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what's the relationship between algorithmic ableism and platform polarization? In a virtual talk I'm giving later this month at Loyola U Chicago, I trace the sticky relationship between ableism and political polarization in the platform age. thanks to @drgyopophd.bsky.social for the invite!

Do we know when the #AoIR2026 CfP will be published?

A great summary of our latest paper on @socialmedialab.ca. You can read the full paper (open access) here: doi.org/10.1177/1461...

Honestly, the German train system never fails (to fail).

An interesting article on the decay of sociality on digital platforms: "Many of these apps are no longer really social apps in any meaningful sense of the word; they’re screen time maximizing apps, using whatever means necessary to eke out extra seconds and minutes."

Just three weeks until #AoIR2025 Ruptures kicks off in Niterói, Brazil, and we can't wait to see you all!

I never know what to say on these platforms anymore—besides the occasional work-related self-promotion. From now on, I will simply scream into the void whatever great stuff I am watching/reading/listening to. MURDERBOOOOOOOT 🤖

AI may take a lot from me—but they will not take my em dashes.

Have you ever heard of predatory journals? Our new study—published this week in Journalism Practice—suggests many science journalists haven't. When they were familiar with predatory journals, most said they weren't worried, confident they'd "be able to spot one if they saw one." Details in 🧵👇

📝 New publication! 📝 "Stop Being so Fkn Soft": Masculinity, Politics, and the Acceptance of Gender-Based Online Violence Myths Among Young Canadian Men Coauthored with Jaigris Hodson, Yimin Chen, Kaitlynn Mendes, George Veletsianos, and Chandell Gosse. Read the paper here: doi.org/10.1177/2056...

New annotated resource on #SocialMediaViolence: Fast and furious: Temporal patterns of incivility in online comments, by Clarke & Thompson. Read my notes here: esteban-morales.com/lit-review-v...

The call for papers for #SMSociety 2026 is live! I look forward to seeing you in Glasgow. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. In the meantime, all the details are here: socialmediaandsociety.org/2025/call-fo...

Back to work after holiday break.

🚨 PhD Opportunity Alert! Help depolarize climate discourse with Argumentative Language Models 🌍💬 Join the project DeCODA-LM at the University of Groningen! 🧵 Details in the thread 👇 🔗 Apply: www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...

New annotated resource on #SocialMediaViolence: Unmasking digital threats in the pursuit of human rights and environmental defense in La Guajira, North Colombia, by Laura Guntrum and Verena Lasso Mena. Read my notes here: esteban-morales.com/lit-review-v...

Save the date: The unmissable #SMSociety conference is happening July 13–15, 2026, in Glasgow (!!). socialmediaandsociety.org/2025/cmon-ta... I'm thrilled to be part of the organizing committee (alongside a fantastic group), so feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

How does the professionalization of Trust & Safety shape global content moderation practices? We compare Community Guidelines using the typology of harms from TSPA to identify policy priorities and exclusions, available #openaccess in New Media & Society: doi.org/10.1177/1461...

McDonald's CEO recently told CNBC that if he were a student today, the top skill he'd develop is eating burgers.

The summer in European universities is so, so quiet.

Wow, the film/media/comm list of AUP was sold to Taylor & Francis (huge conglom that makes $$$$ on research that we do on our own dime, submit for free, revise for free, review for free, and pay for OA)- a bunch of editors promptly quit & I suspect more are forthcoming. Good for them

Anyway, getting a cold in the summer should be illegal.

ZACH DE LA ROCHA: some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses SOCIAL MEDIA: wow, "some"? way to hand-wave the complicity of the power structure. unbelievable. never meet your heroes I guess. do better

New annotated resource on #SocialMediaViolence: Gendered disinformation as violence: A new analytical agenda, by @gehrke.bsky.social and @eedanamitdanhi.bsky.social Read my notes here: esteban-morales.com/lit-review-v...

Are you attending #AoIR2025 @aoir.bsky.social in Brazil? Are you an early-career scholar? Then maybe you'd like to help me coordinate and organize the face-to-face early-career workshop! Reach out if you are interested or if you know anybody who might be the right fit.

The story of human invention and innovation is the story of serendipity. So it’s a little bizarre to see so many of the supposed tech elite determined to eliminate serendipity from their lives, and ours.

New annotated resource on #SocialMediaViolence: The rise of war influencers: Creators, platforms, and the visibility of conflict zones, by @tomdivon.bsky.social and @moaerikssonkrut.bsky.social Read my notes here: esteban-morales.com/lit-review-v...

New publication! My latest paper, titled “Unsettling the meanings of everyday platformized violence: Dialogues about online harms to learn about peace” is now published in the Digital Culture & Education journal. 🔗 You can read it here (open access!): shorturl.at/tzryU

An important reading for qualitative researchers (and instructors of qualitative methods courses) dealing with LLMs: "The researcher’s role should not be replaced by machines with mechanical procedure" link.springer.com/article/10.1...

[It has been a while, but...] New annotated resource on #SocialMediaViolence: Rage against the machine: Exploring violence and emotion in conspiracy narratives on Parler, by @darja.bsky.social et al. Read my notes here: esteban-morales.com/lit-review-v...

Exactly one year ago (!!) I came to Groningen for a job interview. I had no idea it would all work out the way it did.

Google and Meta search both report that Cape Breton Island has its own time zone 12 minutes ahead of mainland Nova Scotia time because they are both drawing that information from a Beaverton article I wrote in 2024

It is impossible not to commit violence when the state has ultimately the power to define everything you do as violence.

Ay, Colombia.

Anyway, emails.

I had a fantastic time at the #AoIR2025Symposium! I leave inspired and challenged, happy to see so many friendly faces. Thankful to @zemki.bsky.social @aoir.bsky.social @ckatzenbach.bsky.social @rscarlets.bsky.social and all the team for organizing such a great space.

On my way to the #AoIR2025Symposium while listening to Empire of AI by Karen Hao.

I am happy to share my latest article, now published in New Media & Society: “Online toxic speech as positioning acts: Hate as discursive mechanisms for othering and belonging.” journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... With @jhodson.bsky.social, Victoria O'Meara, @gruzd.ca and @philipmai.com

#AoiR2025 reviews are out. See you in Brazil 🇧🇷!

El próximo 2 de junio participaré en un conversatorio en línea sobre nuestro proyecto Dialogando Sobre Datos: Un Audiolibro sobre el Colonialismo de Datos (que pueden encontrar aquí: www.tierracomun.net/dialogando-s...). Un proyecto con colegas del colectivo Tierra Común, ¡bienvenid@s!

Just finished reading Careless People. A good, infuriating read. Highly recommended!

✨Last class of the 2024-2025 academic year✨ And it was a fun one to plan and teach—a review of software, critical data and platform studies.

A fantastic from @veronikakoller.bsky.social (@mantrap.bsky.social). A key insight: When manosphere language reaches the mainstream, it loses its violent elements but keeps the misogynistic ideology.

"Computing remains a weapon, despite the clever stories we tell ourselves that make us feel less complicit in its violence – violence to one another, to the planet, to ourselves, to other ways of knowing." by @audreywatters.bsky.social 2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/swords-into-...

“Violence against women (…) is arguably the most accessible entry point for men celebrating violence (…) is so normalized, so acceptable, so mundane that the bar of shock-factor violence has skyrocketed to dismemberment and cannibalism”

📣 We're happy to announce that the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies will be hosting the 5th ECREA Journalism Studies section conference in Groningen, The Netherlands, on April 9th-10th, 2026! Join us and submit your abstract before August 22nd. Find the CfP here: www.rug.nl/research/ico...

The top referral to my personal website is now... ChatGPT?

An incredibly important resource for scholars studying violence and harms, among many other critical topics. Thanks to @alicetiara.bsky.social for leading this effort.

New publication! "Our findings highlight the need for policies and guidelines that go beyond merely mentioning principles of equity and inclusion and instead provide concrete guidance towards advancing the [open science] movement’s stated goal of making science open to all."

JOIN US! Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity on Preprints and Open Peer Review. Multi-year project. Come with work @nataschachtena.bsky.social, @mariomalicki.bsky.social, me, and the rest of #ScholCommLab. Apply by May 23rd! bit.ly/SCLpostdoc2025 Please share widely!