Deportation has entered its TikTok era. Policy becomes spectacle. Enforcement becomes content. Local populism doesn’t travel. Spectacle does. 👇 Read my new piece in @ecprtheloop.bsky.social theloop.ecpr.eu/transatlanti... #TikTok #Propaganda #ICE #deportation #academicsky

⛔️ TikTok deportation propaganda is fast becoming the new border wall. States, platforms + algorithms are fusing into a single machine. 📱 This, says @kagegirl.bsky.social is turning #Deportation into bingeable content + replacing physical walls with algorithmic control. 👉 bit.ly/4bLi6S0

💻 The #DeadInternetTheory offers a disturbingly useful framework for understanding #DigitalPolitics. 🤖 @kagegirl.bsky.social argues that the theory's growing credibility masks deeper questions about whether we're overestimating #AI's political power. 👉 bit.ly/3JN0edQ

Ever feel like politics online is… off? Like everyone’s debating, but no one’s actually there? New piece for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social on the Dead Internet Theory and how we might be building a simulation of democracy itself. 🔗 theloop.ecpr.eu/the-dead-int... #DeadInternet #academicsky #democracy

🎓 My PhD thesis is ready to read! Years of research distilled into one thesis that argues we should take meme pages way more seriously than we do. Turns out your doomscroll is actually reshaping democracy. 📖 researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/studentTh... #academicsky #phd #meme #research

The engraved bullets that killed #CharlieKirk were content designed to go viral. @kagegirl.bsky.social argues this represents a trajectory first made explicit in the 2019 #ChristchurchMassacre: not ideological terror, but performance-art #Terrorism optimised for algorithmic engagement bit.ly/3IHWBpb

New article on @ecprtheloop.bsky.social: How Charlie Kirk’s murder reveals the terrifying intersection of meme culture and political violence. When terror becomes content optimised for engagement, what’s left of democracy? theloop.ecpr.eu/performative... #academicsky #meme #violence #CharlieKirk

Trump. Musk. One stage. No script. Democracy’s the casualty. Read my piece in @ecprtheloop.bsky.social 👉 theloop.ecpr.eu/the-reality-... #EgoWars #Trump #Musk #AcademicSky

🤺 The once steady alliance between Trump and Musk has now become a bitter feud. 📺 @kagegirl.bsky.social argues that #AmericanDemocracy is crumbling into a grotesque theatre where the world's most powerful men treat governance like a reality show. #USpolitics 👉 buff.ly/AvqKwkz

🎓 Just defended and got awarded my PhD thesis on #memes Huge thanks to @iuliacioroianu.bsky.social, @aurelmondon.bsky.social & @hildecoffe.bsky.social for supporting my deep dive into meme maddens. And to @uniofbath.bsky.social for letting me do this #research! #PhD #Viva #PhDone #AcademicSky

On 31 May, Romanian reality star #TeodoraMarcu was shot dead by her former partner. 🪧 Thousands protested, but the state was silent.   ❌ @kagegirl.bsky.social argues Romania’s democracy must confront the systems that render women's deaths politically acceptable. 👉 bit.ly/4exx9xN

Romanian politics has never protected women. It silences them, sidelines them, and only reacts after tragedy. The 2025 protests demand a reckoning. My latest for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social 👇 theloop.ecpr.eu/romanias-sys... #Romania #Protest #Feminism #Democracy #AcademicSky

👏 Congratulations to @kagegirl.bsky.social who made the Loop Best Blog 2024 shortlist for their article 'How Călin Georgescu's TikTok tactics rewired Romanian politics'. #Romania #CalinGeorgescu ➡️ ow.ly/lVq250W3kJp

What if the most powerful political influencers in #Romania aren’t politicians, but meme creators? 👀 🧠 Read the analysis of my research via @aiianational.bsky.social : www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianou... #AcademicSky #meme #research #politics

🇷🇴 Romania's 2025 elections: Expertise rebranded as a Trojan horse Politicians convinced voters that knowledge = foreign invasion. How did we get here? My analysis for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social‬ ⬇️ theloop.ecpr.eu/romanias-202... #Romania #Elections #NicușorDan #GeorgeSimion #academicsky

🗳️ In the #RomanianElection, far-right politicians portrayed intellectuals as not just ineffective, but as a threat to Romanian values. 🗣️ @kagegirl.bsky.social‬ reveals how their rhetoric is winning votes and reshaping how an entire country determines what is true. 👉 bit.ly/45nd4Yy

Romania’s diaspora: sleeping giant or mirror to our political failures? My latest for @e-international.bsky.social on how expats are reshaping Romanian politics. The myth of a uniformly liberal diaspora is over. Read here: www.e-ir.info/2025/05/11/t... #Romania #Diaspora #Politics #academicsky

Just submitted my #PhD thesis 🎓💀 Proof that with enough ☕ + 😵‍💫, you can turn shitposting into scholarship 💻📚✨ Pray for my examiners 🙏 They have to read it unironically #PhDLife #MemeWarfare #ThesisSubmitted

Presented my Very Serious Academic Paper™ on #meme communities as digital third places- aka how #shitposting builds community.Yes, the infamous red cap also made a cameo! The other #research I got to see? Chef’s kiss. Big thanks to @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social + @techpolicy.bsky.social #PSA25

It's Disinformation and Memes time. So far we've heard about Romanian meme communities, and how we can inoculate against deep fake Images! #psa25 #commsky @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

Spoke on the “PhDs for PhDs” panel at the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Early Career Network pre-conference today. Grateful to share a bit of the messy magic that is the #PhD journey. Even more hyped to present my own research on meme communities and third places tomorrow at #PSA25.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but in #Romania, #protest visuals tell entire novels. 🇷🇴📸 When both sides demand change, but in opposite directions, whose future gets written? Read my latest for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social 🔗 theloop.ecpr.eu/seeing-is-be... #academicsky #politics

🖼️ A picture's worth a thousand words, but protest visuals read like novels. 🪧@kagegirl.bsky.social shows how visuals aren't just documentation, but shape public opinion. 🚨In Romania, where 2 protest factions are currently clashing, visuals are on the frontline of political warfare bit.ly/44cKGI3

🚨 Dark MAGA isn’t just a hat - it’s an aesthetic, a vibe, and a meme-fuelled political subculture. I spoke with @wsj.com about how this edgier, fashwave-inspired movement and why even #Musk is in on the trend. 📰 Read more: wsj.com/style/fashion/elon-musk-dark-maga-hat-cap-gothic-trump-81e963cf

JD Vance isn’t just a politician. He’s a #meme in motion. His image, warped by #Democrats and #Republicans alike, isn’t about policy but the power of #memes to redefine political reality. Read my latest #blog 👉 shorturl.at/Uhche #JDVance #US #Politics #AcademicSky

🚨 Conspiracy strikes again! 🚨 I spoke to @erin-hale.bsky.social sky.social for @aljazeera.com about how MAGA supporters see everything as part of a grand plot as #Trump “cleans house.” Their proof? Google searches. No, really. Read more: www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/...

✅ Elon Musk has endorsed Călin Georgescu as Romania's next president. 🗳️ In a world where tech billionaires and populists are manipulating elections in the name of 'democracy', @kagegirl.bsky.social shows how Musk has succeeded in weaponising Romania's sovereignty. ➡️ bit.ly/4ksTm2T

🚀💰 When Elon Musk backs a far-right Romanian politician, it's not just an endorsement—it’s a power move. Has Musk just turned #Romania into his latest experiment? 🇷🇴🔥 Read more 👉 theloop.ecpr.eu/elon-musk-ca... 🔎 @ecprtheloop.bsky.social #ElonMusk #Politics #CalinGeorgescu #Soros #AcademicSky

Melania Trump #memes: part political critique, part digital séance, part ‘is she blinking twice for help?’ My latest for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social unpacks how internet humour turns public figures into myths—sometimes at the cost of reality. 🔗 theloop.ecpr.eu/melania-meme...

📲 Few figures have been subject to as much meme-driven mythmaking as Melania Trump. 😄 @kagegirl.bsky.social argues that Melania memes reveal how humour can obscure the complexities of real-life individuals and detach serious political discourse from reality. ➡️ bit.ly/3Qpq07E

🚨 Excited to share that I was featured in @abartkiewicz’s latest article for @rzeczpospolita! We discuss #CalinGeorgescu and his unexpected political rise and the critical need for digital media literacy. Check it out: www.rp.pl/plus-minus/a... #MediaLiteracy #Disinformation #Romania #Elections

From anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric to anti-vax campaigns, far-right leaders are weaponising conspiracy theories to polarise societies. Explore how Calin Georgescu creates a spectacle of fear and misinformation. Read it now: www.e-ir.info/2024/12/17/h... #PoliticalMisinformation #AcademicSky

🌟 Meme Creators as Change Agents? 🌟 Dive into my latest article on SAGE Journals, exploring how meme creators shape conversations & drive social change in the digital age. 🖼️✨ 📖 Read here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... #Memes #SocialChange #DigitalCulture #MemeEconomy #AcademicSky

🎤 How Manele Shaped Romania’s 2024 Presidential Race #Manele music became a #propaganda tool in this year’s elections. However, the #Roma community behind the genre was ignored. Find out more: theloop.ecpr.eu/manele-music... #AcademicSky #Romania @ecpr.bsky.social @ecprtheloop.bsky.social

⚠️ Misinformation goes viral: Calin Georgescu’s #TikTok tactics rewired #Romanian #politics. What does this mean for #democracy? #academicsky Dive into my latest piece from @ecpr.bsky.social theloop.ecpr.eu/how-calin-georgescus-tiktok-tactics-rewired-romanian-politics

🇷🇴 As Romanians cast their votes, #memes are more than just entertainment— my article explores how memes have become a mirror reflecting our societies. 🔍 Read it here: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25739638.2024.2426330 #Romania #elections #research #AcademicSky #politics #academia