It feels like we have been living in 2020 again, surrounded by grief, anger, and despair. However, I want to share what gives me hope that one day we will move beyond the pandemic and the infodemic. 1/3

Scientists have developed a life-saving antivenom from the deadliest venom. Don't think PR agencies, ad firms or tech giants could do the same. But they are apparently in charge of social media safety. Social scientists have better answers to make social media a safer space, if only we are heard

I’ve published a new piece in IPS Journal (in English and German) on Australia's social media age-ban, a policy that disconnects millions of young people from key online spaces while giving us no real way to measure what it achieves. www.ips-journal.eu/work-and-dig...

In case you hadn’t seen it yet, this is just brilliant, brilliant news – very excited for our wonderful early-career researchers at the @qutdmrc.bsky.social. #AANZCA25 folks, you might be interested in hearing about these projects too…

PhD researcher Kate FitzGerald has a new article out in The Conversation today looking at generative AI chatbots and conspiracy theories.

My @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleague @katemfitzgerald.bsky.social has a great new piece in @aunz.theconversation.com about what happened when we asked AI chatbots about conspiracy theories. The results were … mixed. ☹️

Congratulations to ADM+S researchers awarded grants under the 2025 Queensland–Bavaria Collaborative Research Program, supporting projects that advance research in the responsible use of AI in news personalisation and online search. Read more bit.ly/4ngSRcc

What happens when the only road to your town is privately owned—and they change the rules overnight? In this concluding post of our Search Experience blog series, we (@kkasianenko.bsky.social, @olegzendel.bsky.social and I) explore the impact of AI on the information ecosystem.

@guangnanrio.bsky.social, Uttama Barua, George Gyamfi, Shima Saniei and I have published an article piloted at SICSS-Sydney (organised by @olgarithmic.bsky.social @sssharc.bsky.social). In it, we show the breakdown of trust in global philanthropy. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Delegate registration will open the week of the 13th October 2026, so please keep an eye out on our socials and webpage for the release. To sign up to our Summer School mailing list and for further information, visit our website:

! SAVE THE DATE ! The DMRC 2026 Summer School is back again on our Kelvin Grove Campus in Brisbane, Australia from 2 February to 6 February 2026, featuring interactive sessions showcasing digital humanities and social science research across key programs and projects within the DMRC.

"The generative AI wave isn’t coming — it’s already here, and it’s reshaping how the public finds information." @felixsimon.bsky.social has written about our recent report, including rapid growth in how many (and how) people use generative AI to get information www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/peop...

The telegraph was hailed for its revolutionary ability to span distance. Now AI is hailed as a great leap forward. Both came with environmental costs. 👉 theconversation.com/from-th...

Enjoyed talking with Gareth King for his podcast series digging into the internet's role in how we live now. Love the podcast form for being able to talk through things that don't have easy answers. Has the internet ruined Broadcast Television? www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/has-the-inte...

A new research-backed digital platform, led by Prof Kath Albury, has been developed to help health professionals & communities navigate the overwhelming & often unreliable online information about sexual & reproductive health by building digital & data capabilities @katha.bsky.social bit.ly/3Vu0cKh

Join us online Thurs 11 Sept for the launch of the Digital Capabilities for Sexual & Reproductive Health Final Report & Website. Featuring leading voices across sexual health, policy, advocacy & community. 👉 admscentre.org/DDCSRH-Launch #DigitalHealth #SexualHealth

🆕 Very excited to announce the launch of M/C Journal issue 28.3: '#fan', edited by @svegaard.bsky.social and @vilkins.bsky.social. #mcjournal journal.media-cultur...

From Darkness to Hypervisibility! A one day symposium on the promotional and creator cultures of social media at UQ in November. CFP and details here: hass.uq.edu.au/event/sessio... @bradyjay.bsky.social @antmandan.bsky.social

Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it

📣 Call for contributions! @anya-shchetvina.bsky.social and I are editing a collaborative glossary on internet imaginaries. We’re looking for short entries (500–1000 words) that unpack research concepts used to study how the internet has been imagined over time. matterofimagination.neocities.org/cfp

New release from one of the Chief Investigators at the DMRC, Dr Ehsan Dehghan! A highly relevant piece of work that offers a critical framework for understanding the entangled relationships between discourse, digital media, and the hidden dynamics behind antagonism and polarisation. 🎉

The 1st section of Media 2025 highlights 4 developments that most adjusted media’s cultural role and industrial operation. They introduced exceptionally more choice and control that eradicated SCARCITY - the unacknowledged foundation of predigital media strategy. www.amandalotz.com/media-2025-2/

TOMORROW! Come join us at UNSW for a conversation with @arielbogle.bsky.social and @cameronwilson.bsky.social about their new book, Conspiracy Nation. It's free, it'll be fun, and you might accidentally learn something! events.humanitix.com/conspiracy-n...

Very excited to start my research on prosocial alternatives to dominant social media platforms through the AXA Research Fund Post Doctoral Fellowship. I will be sharing findings in the near future as the project develops. Read more about the project www.qut.edu.au/news?id=201140

Is there a parallel between alternative milk and alternative social media? Sort of... I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts on alternative social media platforms on the Read Them Sideways podcast Have a listen—and feel free to share within your networks open.spotify.com/episode/5LaD...

Would your 4 to 8 year old child like to share what they think about learning with technologies? Join us on July 7 or July 11 at QUT Kelvin Grove for opportunity to play with lots of fun things (i.e., iPads, robots, fun creating apps, blocks, making) and create an eBook.

Congratulations @shirweinbrand.bsky.social for the best poster award!

I had the opportunity to share my thoughts about the upcoming social media ban with SBS Hindi podcast. I channeled the learning from my colleagues at @qutdmrc.bsky.social and @admscentre.org.au www.sbs.com.au/language/hin...

Working on platform governance? Join for PlatGovNet 2025 Free online conference Dec 1-2 Extended abstracts (800-1000 words) due Sep 2 Amazing community, opportunity to share work, get feedback, meet others working in this area. Glad to be part of organizing it Details: platgov.net/conferences/...

Highly recommend this for anyone considering a PhD in digital media

Congratulations to PhD candidate, @jiarut.bsky.social, for her two new articles in June! 🎉 The first is a solo authored paper, "Broadcasting your virtual self: Exploring the authenticity construction and subjectivity of VTubers in China" journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Have you been seeing an increase in the number of search summaries ( ✨ AI Overviews) lately? We (my brilliant colleagues @tjthomson.bsky.social, @shirweinbrand.bsky.social & I) talk about the AI turn in web search in this article and what it means to users? @admscentre.org.au @qutdmrc.bsky.social

Some weekend listening from the Read Them Sideways podcast team and guest Vish Padinjaredath Suresh! @svegaard.bsky.social chats with Vish about Netflix's recent miniseries Adolescence and how it relates to their work on the manosphere and radicalisation. open.spotify.com/episode/4YJv...

Can we still trust search engines as they undergo another transformation driven by AI? Yes and no. We share our insights with Ellen Phiddian in ABC Science, shedding light on what these shifts mean for users, platforms, and public knowledge.

Instagram reels don't follow territorial logic, even between people from so-called 'enemy' nations. Read Steering Committee member @h-tejas.bsky.social's opinion piece for @thequintindia.bsky.social to learn more: bit.ly/4iMFpuE @asc.upenn.edu

“Meta’s recent changes are part of a larger shift by US tech companies to align with conservative leaders, which will have implications for global efforts towards information integrity.” New #wjds paper by @nedwatt.bsky.social, Silvia Montaña-Niño & @riedlinm.bsky.social ➡️ doi.org/10.34669/wi....

🌟New project alert 🌟 I am pleased to share that my project 'Trust in the Fediverse: Leveraging Community Protocols and Automation to Combat Online Harms' has been selected for the AXA Research Fund (axa-research.org) Postdoctoral fellowship. www.linkedin.com/posts/ashwin...

I'm recruiting LGBTQ+ young people for research interviews about TikTok & peer-based mental health support. Participants must be aged 16-25, LGBTQ+, AUS-based. $50 voucher. This follows up findings from the Digital Peer Support study. Info & register at digitalpeersupport.com/news/ Please share! 😊

Oooh, the hardcopy of an excellent new publication from a great set of colleagues at the @qutdmrc.bsky.social and elsewhere just arrived on my desk. Digital version here: apo.org.au/node/328959

New paper from PhD researcher, Kateryna Kasianenko @kkasianenko.bsky.social! In her article, she writes about the digital practices of Japanese Twitter users supporting Ukraine following Russia's full scale invasion. You can read this important work here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Highway to the Sky now streaming on SBS Demand. 💻 This short film captures a speculative arts workshop, where participants use painting & stop motion to reimagine transport mobilities: bit.ly/42qX45U Director: Jeni Lee Research consultants: Sarah Pink, Thao Phan, and Emma Quilty #SpeculativeDesign

DMRC PhD researcher Kateryna Kasianenko and University of Sydney colleague Dr Olga Boichak recently published a critically important article in The Conversation Australia + NZ, marking more than three years since the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. theconversation.com/three-years-...

Highly recommend!

🔗 Websites vanish. Links break. But knowledge can live on with your help. Use the Wayback Machine’s Save Page Now tool to archive webpages that are important to you. 🕰️ 💾 📌 Try it now: web.archive.org/save

CFP for #AusSTS2025 on 'Signals and Noises' closing this week! Feat. a stellar lineup of plenary speakers: Warwick Anderson Kari Lancaster Ranjodh Dhaliwal Singh Fabian Offert Dang Nguyen Kate Mannel Chris O'Neill Elizabeth Stephens Jaya Keaney Deadline Fri 14 March aussts.org/aussts-2025-...

adding cyclone to the list of adventures that has come with life in Brisbane I shall add more updates to this thread as things proceed

The second installment in the @qutdmrc.bsky.social 360info election series is now out, @snurb.info and @vilkins.bsky.social explain how the rapid decrease in platform data availability is curtailing independent scrutiny of online political communication 360info.org/how-digital-...

The DMRC is collaborating with 360info to publish a series on key challenges in the upcoming Australian Federal Election. The first article, published this week, by Professors Daniel Angus (QUT DMRC) and Mark Andrejevic (Monash) explores dark ads' impact on democracy. Read more here 👇 #qutresearch

Couldn't resist sharing this! While exploring the evolution of the Internet/Web/Search engines, I came across Electronics Australia magazine issues from every month of 1990. One recurring ad caught my attention—it’s fascinating how much is packed into those juxtaposed images.

I snowballed on a (digital media related) thought/idea and some how stumbled upon Gilles Deleuze, only to realize he turns 100 tomorrow