New chapter out in De Gruyter handbook of Digital Political Communication

Posted on July 22, 2026 by Paul Reilly

De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Political Communication, published July 2026

I have a chapter in the recently published De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Political Communication. Many thanks to the fantastic editors, Mark Wheeler and & Petros Iosifidis for the invitation, and for pulling together such an excellent volume.

My chapter is entitled ‘Ethical Dilemmas in Researching Sousveillance on YouTube Revisited’.

The abstract can be read below:

The socio-technical affordances of online platforms like YouTube enable citizens to distribute sousveillance (or inverse surveillance) footage, focusing attention on police brutality, to a potential global audience. This undoubtedly creates new opportunities for qualitative researchers exploring the role of social media in contemporary protest and social movements, but it also presents a series of ethical dilemmas to be addressed. Most notably, scholars must consider the feasibility and desirability of seeking informed consent from those uploading and commenting on these videos. This requires some engagement with the merits of the so-called ‘fair game’ defence, namely that publicly available social media data can be used without ethical considerations due to the fact that users should be aware of such data collection courtesy of the terms of service of each platform. In this paper, I consider what measures, if any, should be taken to protect those who comment on social media sousveillance. I do so by revisiting the ethical approach taken during a previous study of how YouTube was used to share sousveillance footage, namely the 2011 ‘Battle of Stokes Croft’ in Bristol, England. I reflect on whether a different stance might be taken if this research was to be conducted in the contemporary era. I argue that sousveillance researchers should focus on what is said online rather than who says it.

The book can be purchased online and you can read a preprint of my chapter here.

Social Media and the Belfast Riots: Articles in Sunday Post, Yle (Finland) and Times of Malta

Posted on June 15, 2026 by Paul Reilly

I have three new articles out on the role of social media in the violent disorder seen in Northern Ireland last week.

On Friday I was interviewed by Derek Healey for an article in The Sunday Post. We discussed whether further racist violence was likely over the summer, and the role of social media in fuelling this violence. I suggested that there was a playbook where far-right agitators like Tommy Robinson use their online presence to whip up tensions around immigration. A quote from the interview is below:

“The trouble is that if there’s a summer where we have several incidents where violent crimes or attacks are linked to people of colour, or there is a suggestion by someone like Musk or Robinson that this is about immigrants, you could well see it play out again.”

The article can be read online here and is below:

I also have an op-ed published in the Times of Malta. This focused on the role of online agitators in the protests and related violence seen in Belfast last year.

Finally, I was interviewed by Vilma Romsi for an YLE (Finland) segment on the riots.

I argued that online platforms were being used to manufacture and manipulate anti-immigrant sentiments in the UK. I pointed out that right-wing agitators and certain media outlets talk a lot about the negative aspects of immigration. This has fuelled a perception within some working-class communities that they are to blame for the social and economic problems they face, irrespective of the evidence. A quote from the article (translated into English) is below:

“Social media influencers and traditional media are drumming up and clinging to immigration in a way that makes it seem like a big deal to ordinary people. In reality, the number of immigrants in Northern Ireland is relatively small,” Reilly says.

Thanks to Vilma for the interview, it can be read (in Finnish) here.

Social Media and the Belfast Riots: Articles in The Conversation, New Statesman and The Times

Posted on June 12, 2026 by Paul Reilly

I have three new articles out on the role of social media in the violent disorder seen in Northern Ireland this week.

On Wednesday I wrote for the Conversation UK on how social media had been used by far-right agitators like Tommy Robinson to incite violence in Belfast and other towns. I argued that while more could be done to prevent online hate and misinformation, the toxic discourse around immigration was a bigger problem. It can be read in full here.

Yesterday I had an op-ed published in The Times. I posited how facts don’t matter to those seeking to leverage traumatic incidents, such as Monday’s knife attack in North Belfast, to further anti-immigrant agendas. I was also interviewed by David Leask for a report on the protests and related violence in Glasgow.

Finally, I had an article published in The New Statesman yesterday. In this one I reflected on the similarities between this week’s events and the racist violence seen in Ballymena last summer. I discussed the reasons why far-right agitators have been able to mobilise support from working-class loyalist communities, and the role of online platforms in whipping up anti-immigrant sentiments. The piece can be read here (you may need to subscribe to access it).

Many thanks to Charlotte Morris for helping arranging these , and to Nick Harris, David Leask, Dale Miller and Sarah Reid for publishing them.

Interviewed about online abuse directed at Scottish journalists

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Paul Reilly

This week my colleague Catherine Happer and I were interviewed about the normalisation of abuse against journalists in Scotland. The article, published in The National, explored how politicians delegitmise the media and dismiss critical coverage as ‘fake news’. There have even been recent incidents of political aides grabbing journalists mid-question. This abuse of journalists is particularly ominous as we enter the final stages of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

A few of my quotes from the article are below:

“It feels as if we are heading in the same direction as the US under Trump,” says Dr Paul Reilly, a Senior Lecturer in Communication, Media and Democracy at the University of Glasgow. “We see UK politicians dismissing critical media coverage as ‘fake news’, trying to avoid legitimate questions from the press by questioning their integrity and motives”

Farage is a case in point, Dr Reilly argues. “Farage has issued statements claiming he was going to boycott the BBC and yet still appears on their programmes,” he says. The contradiction only makes sense if you see the boycott threat as performance: a way to present himself as a victim of a hostile establishment while continuing to use its platforms.

Dr Reilly makes the same point from a different angle. “It certainly reinforces and strengthens existing patterns of distrust in our media and political institutions,” he says.

“It is little wonder that journalists are subjected to abuse and hostility online. Social media users frequently see video footage of political leaders accusing journalists of fabricating stories or trying to smear them – all because they are asking uncomfortable questions or scrutinising the actions and policies of our politicians.”

Dr Reilly cites this evidence, adding: “I would be worried that this trend may result in journalists being threatened, or worse still, attacked by members of the public.”

“This is one of the roots of the information crisis that has seen members of the public become increasingly disillusioned with democracy,” he warns.

Many thanks to Laura Pollock for the interview, which can be read here.