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
Dóra Oprics
Dóra Oprics explores the 2X civil society campaign in Hungary in 2022, which resulted in 1.7 million Hungarians successfully invalidating an exclusionary child protection referendum. The outcome reveals insights into the mobilising powers of grassroots activism against attempts to demonise the LGBTQIA+ community Read more
Joakim Kreutz
In an increasingly globalised and digital world, national borders are no longer constraints on political mobilisation, argue Joakim Kreutz and Anthi Antonia Makrogianni. Thailand's 2020 #MilkTeaAlliance protests show how shared identities created in online communities can form in reaction to online repression Read more
Maria Merkouraki
EU digital diplomacy during the Russia-Ukraine war has led to the rise of hard-power discourse, writes Maria Merkouraki. The war has disrupted traditional pro-European soft messaging, and shifted the EU's approach to digital diplomacy 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
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
Angie K. González
Angie K. González and Carme Ferré-Pavia argue that social media platforms are potential equalisers allowing women politicians to circumvent traditional media biases. In Colombia, female and male politicians use Twitter in similar ways to receive similar benefits. The key variable in inequality is ideology Read more
Nikolina Klatt
Where there is authoritarianism, there is disinformation. Nikolina Klatt and Vanessa Boese-Schlosser examine the use of disinformation in authoritarian governance and highlight how autocrats use it to maintain their grip on power. But they also caution that disinformation is not exclusive to autocratic governance: spreading deceitful narratives harms democracies Autocratic disinformation tactics Limiting transparency is […] Read more
