Tag Archives: social media

Op-ed on social media and UK riots published in The Scotsman

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Op-ed in The Scotsman, 14 August.

Yesterday I had an op-ed published in The Scotsman. In ‘Social media tycoon won’t act to ditch harmful content, I review the various ways online platforms could be better regulated in order to avoid a repeat of the misinformation linked to the recent violence in the UK. These include calls for temporary shutdowns, stronger financial penalties, and even the suspension of operating licences. I also discuss the ways citizens can counteract hate speech and msinformation that contributes to civil unrest.

Many thanks to Charlotte Morris for helping arrange this. It can be read in full here.

VIEWdigital article on how social media should be held accountable for amplifying hateful content during UK riots

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Thousands attended an anti-racism rally in Belfast city centre

Delighted to have written an article for VIEWdigital on the responsibility of social media for amplifying hateful content during the UK riots. I argue that there are some steps that users can take to mitigate its impact if platforms are unwilling to take stronger action on hate speech and misinformation.

Many thanks to Brian Pelan and Una Murphy for the invitation. The article can be read 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.

Interview on BBC Scotland’s The Nine about role of social media in UK riots

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interview on BBC Scotland’s The Nine, 6 August 2024.

Last night I appeared on BBC Scotland’s The Nine to discuss the role of social media in the ongoing UK riots. I discussed the difficulty of removing hate speech and misinformation from platforms that are not considered publishers.

Many thanks to Charlotte Morris, Ben Russell and the team on The Nine for arranging the interview.

The interview can be viewed here (it begins at 24:30).

Interviewed by France 24 on role of social media in English riots

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Van on fire during the 2024 Southport Riots CC BY 3.0

Yesterday I spoke to Sebastian Seibt from France 24 about the role of social media in the riots seen in English towns and cities over the past week.

We discussed the role of public figures, journalists and influencers in amplifying misinformation that contributed to the violence. I suggested that it was too early to tell whether Russian disinformation agents had played a key role in the spread of false information about the Southport attacker.

Many thanks to Sebastian for the invitation.

The article can be read (in French) here.

Interviewed on LBC News about role of social media in riots in England

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Image of counter-demonstrator in Southport, via HopenotHate

On Saturday I spoke to Andrew Peach on LBC News about the role of social media during the riots in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Sunderland over the past week. We discussed issues like the role of conspiracy theories and misinformation in inflaming tensions, and whether platforms can do more to remove harmful content.

The interview can be listened to here

Thanks to Andrew, Elliot, Charlotte and Rachel for the invitation.

Article in The Conversation about role of social media in Southport riots

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Image of counter-demonstrator in Southport, via HopenotHate

I have a new article out in the Conversation UK today.

In this piece, I analyse the role of social media misinformation in the Southport riots earlier this week. I explore how online platforms circulated false information alleging the attacker was Muslim, a migrant and a refugee.

I argue that while social media helped amplify tensions, their role should not be overblown. Politicians must also take some responsibility for their role in creating a toxic discourse surrounding immigration.

Many thanks to Avery Anapol for the invitation to write this piece.

The article can be read here

Article published in UK General Election Analysis report

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UK General Election Analysis 2024 report

I have an article in a new publication on the 2024 UK General Election edited by Dan Jackson, Julie Firestone, Emily Harmer, Einar Thorsen, Darren Lilleker, Katy Parry and Scott Wright. This rapid response report features 101 contributions from 130 UK and international academics .

Many thanks to the editors for the invitation to participate and all their hard work in producing this comprehensive report.

My article explores the Facebook ads paid for by the parties in Northern Ireland. I analyse who spent the most, who were the most prominent politicians, and the rhetoric deployed in these ads.

The article can be accessed here.

The full report is available to download from here