I was quoted in an article by The National’s Steph Brawn on the anti-far right summit in Scotland.
I argued that there was too much focus on the spectacle of the rise of Reform. The Scottish political mainstream needs to test their policies on issues like immigration and offer viable alternatives. The rise of parties like Reform is due to a breakdown in trust in political institutions, which will take a long time to recover from. However the first step must be to inject facts into debates over immigration and to avoid leaning into emotional narratives that inflame tensions further.
Many thanks to Steph for the opportunity and Charlotte Morris for arranging it.
Yesterday I had an op-ed published in The Scotsman. In ‘Social media isn’t solely to blame for rise of far-right’, I argue for a holistic approach. It’s too easy to pin the blame solely on online platforms that amplify hate and misinformation. Politicians need to dial down the rhetoric on issues like immigration. It’s time to focus on why right-wing extremism resonates with young people rather than solely blame social media algorithms.
Many thanks to Charlotte Morris for helping arrange this. It can be read in full here.
I will soon be stepping down from my position as Vice-Chair of the IAMCR Crisis Security and Conflict Communication Working Group.
It’s been a pleasure to work with Virpi and the CRI WG over the past four years. Despite a global pandemic, these years were enormously rewarding and saw a significant growth in group membership and activity. It’s been lovely to get to know members of the WG. I’ve also seen colleagues progress their careers since 2021.
Two Vice-Chair roles are among those to be up for election this month. It’s a great opportunity to work with a diverse group of scholars interested in crisis and conflict communication.
Interested candidates should send their name, institutional position, a statement of no more than 500 words and a photograph to elections@iamcr.org by Friday 4 April, with a copy to the S/WG elections coordinator Andrea Medrado (A.Medrado@exeter.ac.uk) and to Virpi and I as current leaders of the WG.
If you have any questions about the role then I please feel free to drop me a line (paul.reilly@glasgow.ac.uk).
Research Culture & Researcher Development, University of Glasgow
I have been recognised as an Outstanding Mentor by the University of Glasgow’s Research Culture and Researcher Development (RCRD) team. One of my mentees (very kindly!) wrote this about my mentoring skills:
“The mentorship has helped me to take think about the priorities in my career and has facilitated taking important career decisions. My mentor has given me insights on different dimensions to consider when planning to move to the next career stage and has helped me to reflect over those dimensions in very productive way..”
Thanks to all of my mentees and Dr. Elaine Gourlay of the RCRD team for their very positive feedback and support- very much appreciated!
Debate on social media and crisis communication, UNOCHA HNPW, 21 March
Next Friday (21 March) I will be an invited participant in a debate on social media and crisis communication. This event is organised by Asad Tahir from the University of Leicester and the Avoidable Deaths Network. It is part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) #HumanitarianWeek.
Jamie Wardman (University of Leicester), Christian Morgner (University of Sheffield), and I will explore the opportunities of using online platforms. We will also evaluate the challenges that arise during crisis situations.
A synopsis of the event is below:
The objectives of this session include: 1) To maximize the visibility of crisis communication as an anticipatory action for reducing avoidable deaths by employing effective and proactive communication strategies; 2) To enhance awareness about avoidable disaster deaths among the audience as well as the organizers. The innovative idea of an engaging debate offers a unique opportunity for the audience and the organizers to learn from each other; 3) To provide a vibrant platform for communication experts, crisis leaders, NGOs, students, academics and researchers to share their informed insights about disaster deaths and crisis communication; 4) To discuss and deliberate about the scope and significance of crisis communication as an effective component of crisis preparedness to significantly reduce the number of avoidable deaths and people affected by disasters by 2030; 5) It is pertinent to highlight that ADN is part of the Sendai Framework’s Voluntary Commitments (SFVC) Platform. Our Voluntary Commitments to the UNDRR are inked until 2030, especially focusing on the first two targets of the Sendai Framework. Therefore, this session promises an opportunity to not only manifest our commitments to the UNDRR but also maximize the visibility of our continued endeavors at the UNOCHA’s Summit in Geneva; and 6) Above all, this interesting and innovative debate seeks to promote awareness and enhance knowledge about the theory and practice related to avoidable deaths and crisis communication strategies as an effective tool for crisis preparedness
There is still time to register for this event here
Invited public lecture at European University Rotterdam, 18 February 2025
This week I am delighted to be an academic visitor at the European University Rotterdam. During this trip, I will deliver a public lecture entitled ‘From Doomscrolling to Activism/Action’. Chaired by Dr. Delia Dumitrica (EUR), activist and researcher Chris Julien and I will discuss the future of Digital Activism. We will explore this topic in an increasingly fragmented world. I will discuss the key findings from my book Digital Contention in a Divided Society (Manchester University Press, 2024).
A description of the event is below:
Do you know the feeling? Climate change, ongoing wars, rising hostilities. The world appears to be on fire and more polarized than ever, and it seems almost impossible to do something about it. How do we break this helpless feeling of despair? How can online feelings of empathy and care translate into real world action? And what is necessary for discontent to become successful political movements?
The event is co-organised by Delia and Lenya Slierendrecht from Studium Generale. It will be held at CB-4 (Theil Basement), European University of Rotterdam. The event timing is from 19:30 to 21:00 CET.
If you are in Rotterdam tomorrow (18 February), there is still time to register to this free event here.
Many thanks to Delia and Lena for the invite- should be a great discussion!
I was interviewed by Anna Desmarais for an article. It was published by Euronews on the future of TikTok under the Trump administration. I argued that tech ‘broligarchs’ like Elon Musk lack accountability when they decide what is ‘free speech’ or not. Their influence on public discourse presents a threat to democratic values. This is particularly concerning given their ability to censor content they disagree with.
Thanks to Anna for the interview, it can be read in full here.
Suay Özkula and I have published an article in Social Media + Society. Entitled ‘Where is the Global South? Northern Visibilities in Digital Activism Research’, this paper draws on the results of a review of 315 articles published between 1994 and 2018.
The abstract can be read below:
The seemingly global nature of English-language hashtags often obscures activism from outside the Global North (GN). This systematic review explores geographic representation in this field (N = 315 articles) through an investigation of case study location, author affiliation, methods of data collection and analysis, and researched social media platforms. The results show a preponderance of GN/Majority cases and non-region-specific social media groupings such as hashtag publics, particularly in research employing digital methods. As such, extant research in the field has disproportionately produced what we term Northern Visibilities—groups and movements based in GN countries (above all the United States) and platforms popular within them. We use the findings of the review to critically interrogate notions of the Global South in digital social research and provide recommendations for rectifying geopolitical underrepresentation and promoting more inclusive research practice.
Many thanks to the editors, reviewers, and the SM+S team for their help in getting this out. We would also like to thank Jenny Hayes for her earlier work on this project.
The article can be downloaded and read for free here.
Look out for further details on the study in the New Year!
I have contributed to a new article out in African Journalism Studies this week. Led by Mokhtar Elareshi and Samar Ben Romdhane (University of Sharjah), we examined how Tunisian journalists report on climate change. The interview-based study (n=7) explores challenges like online disinformation and instability within government that shape their climate journalism. We argue that youth-led climate activism enables these journalists to amplify diverse voices and advocate for marginalised communities.
Thanks to Mukhtar for his leadership on this and the reviewers at AJS for their constructive feedback. The article can be read in full here.
Dr Paul Reilly 