Five books and five records that inspired me in 2025: Books: 1) American Technological Sublime by David E. Nye (1994) 2) The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi (1944) 3) Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025) 4) Essential Essays by Stuart Hall (2019) 5) The Code by Margaret O'Mara (2019)

New essay out that draws from my current book project (might be paywalled – I will post a gift link soon). academic.oup.com/ccc/article-...

In the news business, we call this a “puff piece.” It’s about the Ellisons, an “intriguing partnership,” according to the NY Times, which seems more impressed by people’s bank accounts than anything else. The Ellisons are buying up media to prop up a dictator. That’s the news. 1/4 🧵

NYT describing a state-backed authoritarian-aligned media takeover, which could soon "range from CNN to Warner Bros. to TikTok" as an "intriguing partnership" 😶

Stuart Hall on teaching 💛 “Let me put it this way: you have to be sure about a position in order to teach a class, but you have to be open-ended enough to know that you are going to change your mind by the time you teach it next week” (Hall, Essential Essays vol. 1, p. 245)

How do journalism scholars apply discourse analysis? Find out in our new article in Journalism Studies! Spoiler: We find a theoretical deficit, as 28% of articles apply discourse analysis (DA) without reference to any major theoretical school. doi.org/10.1080/1461...

GLASHEEN: Antifa is our primary concern right now. That's the most immediate violent threat we're facing BENNIE THOMPSON: Where is antifa headquartered? GLASHEEN: ... ... ... we are building out the infrastructure right now THOMPSON: What does that mean?

Computer scientists: "So with machine learning we can extract subtle patterns from massive datasets. What shall we do with it?" Business school professors, every single time: "You know, I think phrenology got a raw deal in the late 1800s."

The White House’s insistence on using Sabrina Carpenter’s work and image to promote their crimes against humanity is also them appealing to their base, which already uses technology to try and humiliate and puppeteer the likenesses of women who have autonomy, success, and visibility in public

Why make your building fun and creative when you can just write it on the front? (seen in Brussels)

In Brussels, not as a Christmas tourist. Here to present my current research on fact-checking and democracy. At the SoMe4Dem stakeholder event on Resilient Democracy Online. More info: www.brussels-school.be/output/event...

Around 10% of Meta's revenue comes from literal crime. That’s not a moderation failure, it's a business model. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Delighted to announce that my PhD thesis "Misinformation Claims in Australian News: Lies, Fakes, and Scare Campaigns" is now available on QUT E-Prints at doi.org/10.5204/thes.... Big moment 🥹 massive, unspeakably huge thanks to my family, my supervisors, and my thoughtful and engaged interviewees.

Presented a poster for 'Digital Media Metaphors: A Critical Introduction' at our department seminar: Can you guess the metaphors?

And we're off: #Nordmedia25 Looking forward to great discussions with Nordic research colleagues.

Re-reading Marc Andreessen's Techno-Optimist Manifesto. Had forgotten the big brain argument that AI regulation is actually murder: "any deceleration of AI will cost lives. Deaths that were preventable by the AI that was prevented from existing is a form of murder" 🙃

Very excited to share that my book, The Discursive-Digital Link, is now available for pre-order on Routledge: tinyurl.com/the-ddl. The e-book is already available to order with a 30% discount! You can also read the synopsis and the Introduction chapter on my website: essideh.com/ddl/ (thread)

"Boston Consulting Group consultants modelled relocating Palestinians to Somalia and Somaliland during a project on postwar Gaza, according to people familiar with the work." www.ft.com/content/2206...

My first encyclopedia article is now out. It's in Danish and about content moderation ('indholdsmoderation') - in Medie- og Kommunikationsleksikon. medieogkommunikationsleksikon.dk/indholdsmode...

Back from holidays 😊 Did an interview with Danish radio (P1) yesterday on the gutting of public service in the US. Starts at 47.18: www.dr.dk/lyd/p1/k-liv...

It’s worse than “Gaza is being starved and destroyed and no one cares.” It’s that hundreds of millions *do* care and are powerless to stop it. We need a world where that can never happen, where the masses actually have political power.

Gaza’s “last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing,” according to the United Nations. Children are starving. In recent weeks, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians seeking food aid, per the UN. Learn more:

Are the masses being blamed for problems that are being created by a handful of people? We tackle this question, explore how news is distributed, flaws with the media, and more in Episode 2 with @jfarkas.bsky.social. Now available wherever you get your #podcasts! #democracy #fakenews

It is not good when DSA enforcement becomes a trade/ geopolitical bargaining chip … “The European Commission pauses the investigation into DSA violations by X to maintain peace with the United States” itdaily.com/news/busines...

Really enjoyed this conversation!

We are back with episode 2!🎙️ Jess‬ is joined by Johan Farkas (@jfarkas.bsky.social) of the University of Copenhagen, talking #democracy in a post-truth era. Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think! linktr.ee/democracydif... #politicspodcast #newepisode #democracydifferently

"My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people... I have been teaching classes on genocide for a quarter of a century. I can recognize one when I see one." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...

My NYT op-ed this morning I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...

“Det første skridt er derfor at erkende, at problemet ikke alene kan løses gennem faktatjek eller dannelse, men kræver et grundlæggende opgør med den politisk-økonomiske orden, der har gjort det muligt for tech-milliardærer at påvirke vores samfund uden demokratisk legitimitet.”

I've written a blog post in Danish for Copenhagen Review of Communication based on my recent work with Aurelien Mondon on 'The Roots of Reactionary Tech Oligarchy and the Need for Radical Democratic Alternatives' www.copenhagen-review-of-communication.com/de-reaktiona...

As part of this month's forum on Media & Fascism, @jfarkas.bsky.social and @aurelmondon.bsky.social explore the rise of reactionary tech oligarchy and why liberalism, journalism, and the Internet aren't the bulwarks they might seem. Check it out! doi.org/10.1093/ccc/...

An addled president is shredding the Constitution to usher in white nationalism and fascism while destroying the economy and our health care, so if you’re going to write an alarmist op-ed because a mayoral candidate might open five (5) city-run grocery stores, you can kindly get bent.

🙃

I will give a keynote lecture on Monday at the 1st Workshop on Misinformation Detection in the Era of LLMs (MisD) - in conjunction with ICWSM-2025. My talk is titled 'The Democratic Deficit of Misinformation Solutions'. Looking forward! sites.google.com/view/misd-20...

In Danish: Contributing to this article in Videnskab.dk on how Politiken published a demographic projection with clear echoes of scientific racism. Professor Peter Fallesen concludes: "It seems like a calculation scribbled on the back of a napkin." videnskab.dk/kultur-samfu...

"These are the nearly 2,500 N.I.H. grants that have been ended or delayed." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

From our new commentary: "To better describe our current context, we use the term reactionary tech oligarchy. We argue that it encompasses the current historical conjuncture, as it stresses how these movements are elite-driven and top-down" (Farkas & Mondon, 2025, p. 123)

If you ain’t doing propaganda, the NEH ain’t interested.

SCOOP: The first wave of DOGE staffers was supposed to be gone after 130 days. Instead, core members of the team have signed on for the long haul. www.wired.com/story/big-ba...

In Danish: Contributing to this article in Politiken about pro-Israeli ads placed in Danish media by Israel’s Government Advertising Agency via Google Ads. politiken.dk/kultur/medie...

'This moment urgently calls for bold, critical research and alliances across academia, journalism, and civil society and for those with privileged access to public discourse to take responsibility' @jfarkas.bsky.social and I on the rise of reactionary tech oligarchy academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...

Check out my latest, with @paulachak.bsky.social, in @ccc-journal.bsky.social! It introduces a forum we co-edited on "Media and Fascism," with a star-studded lineup! See the 🧵 below: doi.org/10.1093/ccc/...

@jfarkas.bsky.social and @aurelmondon.bsky.social write about the roots of reactionary tech oligarchy and the need for radical democratic alternatives. doi.org/10.1093/ccc/...

New commentary in Communication, Culture and Critique! @aurelmondon.bsky.social and I explore 'The Roots of Reactionary Tech Oligarchy', a critical reflection on how liberal institutions enabled the unprecedented concentration of infrastructural and monetary power in the hands of tech billionaires.

So…about AI’s energy use… “…to create a five-second video, a newer AI model uses ‘about 3.4 million joules, more than 700 times the energy required to generate a high-quality image’. That's the equivalent of running a microwave for over an hour.”

📢✨ New OA book out now with Amsterdam University Press: Governing the Digital Society: Platforms, Artificial Intelligence, and Public Values, edited by José van Dijck, @kfvanes.bsky.social, @silvertje.bsky.social, & @fvandervlist.bsky.social. Access: www.aup.nl/en/book/9789...

"The UN estimates that approximately 92 per cent of all residential buildings in Gaza – around 436,000 homes – have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the conflict." news.un.org/en/story/202....

Euphemisms won't save research from the far right. This is why we should stop calling the threat to democracy "populism" "polarization" or "post-truth" and instead the resurgence of fascism. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/b...

This week, the GOP slid an amendment into the budget reconciliation process that would ban US states from enacting laws that govern AI. This of course was not an aberration—it’s the direct result of Silicon Valley lobbying efforts, and big tech’s union with Trump and the Republican Party.

Less a belief in AGI, more about how much power can be concentrated into these systems. They know how to play that hand: Silicon Valley is an industry built on becoming essential by faking its own necessity while tearing down alternatives. www.techpolicy.press/anatomy-of-a...