Tag Archives: Media appearance

The National interview on anti-far-right summit in Scotland

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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.

The article can be read in full here

Op-ed published in Scotsman on the Rise of Far-Right Extremism in Scotland

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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.

TikTok Under Trump: Euronews interview on the Influence of Tech Billionaires

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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.

Elon Musk’s X: Interviewed for Dazed article on Social Media Exodus

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Photo by Mati Mango on Pexels.com

Earlier this week, I spoke to Thom Waite. It was for a Dazed article on the role of Elon Musk’s X. The focus was during the recent US Presidential Election. We discussed whether the recent exodus from X will continue. We also explored reasons why people would choose to stay on the microblogging site.

Many thanks to Thom for the invitation. The article can be read in full here.

BBC Interview: AI vs Human Moderators

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BBC Breakfast interview on social media content moderation

This week I was interviewed by BBC Tech editor Zoe Kleinman. It was for a piece on the human cost of social media content moderation. We discussed whether it was possible for AI to replicate the job done by human moderators. I argued that human moderation was necessary, but that these jobs are very harmful to those who do them.

The clip can be viewed below.

I also contributed to this article exploring the human costs of moderating traumatic images and videos.

Many thanks to Zoe, Georgina and the BBC crew for the chat, and to Charlotte Morris for helping organise this.

France 24 interview on how neo-nazis exploit disasters for misinformation

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Donald Trump criticised for spreading misinformation about Hurricane Hélène

Last week I spoke to Sebastian Seibt from France 24. We talked about how neo-Nazi groups were using Hurricane Hélène. They aimed to show themselves as civil society actors, amplifying misinformation and conspiracy theories about the relief efforts favouring migrants.

I argued that the misinformation spread by US Presidential candidate Donald Trump was very damaging. His false claims about the Biden administration not supporting victims influenced the behavior of vulnerable citizens. They were more likely to turn to extremist groups like Patriotic Front for information and support than the authorities. In effect, they exploited this crisis to rebrand themselves as legitimate, credible actors.

Many thanks to Sebastian for the invitation. 

The article can be read (in French) here.

Interviewed for Reuters news article on British police removing Twitter/X accounts

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Last week, Andy Bruce interviewed me. This was for a Reuters piece on the number of British police forces deciding to remove their Twitter/X accounts. I argued that the rise of hate speech, extremist content, and misinformation was a major factor. This led public organisations to leave the microblogging site for other platforms.

Thanks to Andy and Charlotte Morris for the invite. The article can be read in full here.

Interviewed on LBC News about social media prosecutions during UK riots

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Photo by Joaquin Carfagna on Pexels.com

On Saturday (10 August) I was

On Saturday I spoke to Andrew Peach on LBC News about the number of arrests linked to the use of social media to incite violence during the UK riots. We discussed issues like Twitter owner Elon Musk’s amplification of conspiracy theories and what platforms can do to remove harmful content.

The interview can be listened to here

Thanks to Andrew, Elliot, and David for the invitation.

Interviewed for The National on social media and protests in Glasgow

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Article in The National, 8 August 2024

On Wednesday I spoke to Hamish Morrison from The National about the list of far-right protests in Scotland circulated on social media. We discussed how far-right groups used apps like Telegram to organise, the threat of misinformation during the recent riots in England, and how best to respond to false information circulating online.

Thanks to Hamish and Charlotte Morris for the invitation. The article can be read here.

Interviewed on The World public radio show about social media and UK riots

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Van on fire during the 2024 Southport Riots CC BY 3.0

On Monday I was interviewed by Orla Barry for a segment on international public radio news show The World. We discussed the likelihood of sanctions being applied by the UK government to social media platforms who amplified misinformation during the ongoing civil unrest.

Many thanks to Orla for the invitation. The segment can be listened to here.