Andrea Ceron
Analysing posts on Facebook and Twitter-X, Andrea Ceron, Silvia Decadri, and Fedra Negri highlight how Italian politicians use populist rhetoric to generate engagement. They find that such rhetoric does indeed increase the likelihood of posts going viral, even among non-populist voters Read more
Courtney Blackington
Not all conspiracy theories that spread on social media remain popular over time. Courtney Blackington and Frances Cayton argue that conspiracy theories which map onto salient cleavages are more likely to persist and spread online. They find that elites who endorse conspiracy theories do not always attract engagement unless an event occurs that makes those conspiracy theories salient Read more
Paola Pierri
Social media has lured us all into a 'popularity trap'. We thought we were transforming democracy, but we are not. Paola Pierri makes the case for a politics of presence in the digital age. This, she argues, needs to advance the visibility of marginalised identities, not their popularity From popularity to visibility In our digital […] Read more
Taina Meriluoto
To strive towards democratic transformations, we have much to learn from marginalised activists. They espouse ‘presentist identities’ to fight the dismissive categories through which other people see them. Presentist identities do not assume a past or a future. Instead, they make us simultaneously perceivable and free, writes Taina Meriluoto Read more
Jonathan Klüser
Amid the current Israel-Gaza conflict, social media influencers – previously apolitical players – are crafting persuasive narratives. Their posts may be limited in number, but their influence can be signficiant. We should remain vigilant to their effects, writes K. Jonathan Klüser Read more
Kate Hawkins
The Loop blog site launched on 12 October 2020. In spring 2021, our team discussed establishing an annual prize for the strongest blog piece published during a calendar year. Managing Editor Kate Hawkins tells the story of the creation of our first-ever award Read more
Luca Carrieri
‘Sovereignism’ has been characterised as a product of globalisation and Europeanisation, presumably as an (over)reaction to the perceived negative consequences of both. Luca Carrieri and Nicolò Conti's research shows that party supply on sovereignism has been strongly influenced by public demand Read more
Yuting Alina He
As gender becomes an increasingly heated issue in China, He Yuting and Ruairidh Brown explore how the ‘female boxer’ has become a key disciplinary image in this struggle – and how it can be contested Read more
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