We need funding support for research on malign cognitive influence and disinformation. Information corruption is both a catalyst and accelerant for all other systemic risks. We should fund research accordingly. youtu.be/fEv6n--Em6Q?...

The smell of BS in the morning…. Farage is clearly very worried about this £5m bung from Harborne. And rightly so - British voters really don’t like big money in politics, Reform voters as much as anyone So Farage is trying everything to distract from the crypto bros bankrolling Reform.

The moment of one of today’s Russian strikes on #Kyiv. I can see that fewer and fewer people are reading news from Ukraine. I understand that on a Sunday morning, people don’t want to read about war. They want to sleep a little longer, drink good coffee, and sit in the sun. I understand that.

“Westminster needs to wake up to this need for joined-up thinking if we are to limit the number of...Essexes, Hertfordshires & Nottinghams...UK universities are a precious commodity. Ten years of dropping this commodity to see where the pieces land is not an education policy worthy of the name.” 1/2

🧪 #AcademicSky 🇬🇧 30% staff cut in Chemistry at Nottingham. Two years ago, the Department received the RSC Prize in Excellence for Higher Education. Resources and talent going to waste. UKG doing nothing to preserve strategic know-how for the country. www.chemistryworld.com/news/notting...

We are testing psychological #inoculation against misinformation in UK schools to help young students navigate social media and online safety. Thanks to BBC for featuring our trial in Panorama presented by the brilliant Marianna Spring when testing our #BadNews game! www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Yesterday,Russia killed 24 people in Kyiv,three of them children Here are some of their names&pictures.They were simply living their lives until Russia brutally took their lives from them: ▪️Sisters Liubava and Vira Yakovlieva,aged 12 &17. ▪️15-year-old Mariia – killed along with her dad & grandma

It's been 16 months since I left X, and I feel so much better for it. I hadn't realised just how big an impact the daily tsunami of hate, trolling, sealioning and strategic incomprehension was having on my state of mind. I cannot understand why anyone who values their mental health is still there.

Not to excuse this, & it’s a while since I presented anything on the BBC, but I do recall noting an almost subconscious desire to disprove bogus allegations of bias by being particularly tough on Labour & Lib Dems (Ed Davey once complained!) This is another victory for right wing media gaslighting.

It never ceases to amaze me how many election pundits don’t understand the dynamics of First Past the Post, and how vote-splitting works under the UK’s electoral system. John Curtice does. Listen to John Curtice.

The "free speech" discussion around disinformation seems to be an intentionally wrong cognitive framework--a cognitive trap. It's about corruption, not speech. I discussed this with @jimludes.bsky.social on his Active Measures Newsletter podcast this week. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p5r...

On a day when mega-rich, privileged and safe, Zia Yusuf, pledges to shove asylum seekers in detention centres (in Green constituencies), before forcibly deporting them, this is a v important read. These grim people are frauds. Exploiting ignorance and racism for votes. But only to enrich themselves.

From collaboration with the World Economic Forum. intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1G68...

Highlights from the 2026 Cambridge Disinformation Summit Sir Sadiq Khan, @london.gov.uk Utah Gov Spencer Cox Former Australian PM, Malcolm Turnbull MEP Alexandra Geese, @alexandrageese.eurosky.social Dr Joe Pierre, UCSF psychiatrist, @psychunseen.bsky.social youtu.be/mQRtxjEjis8?...

Well, they've finally struck home. #ICE has detained my former #umich student, Yousif Azizi, a PhD student in public policy at Virginia Tech w/a valid visa. He was arrested while taking his children to school in Maryland. After multiple transfers, he is in a detention center in Arizona.

"Disinformation has become an industry, an outrage economy organized around a division dividend, which allows people to profit from division and poison." @london.gov.uk at the 2026 Cambridge Disinformation Summit. youtu.be/8Zip3CoDwGo

"...disinformation campaigns appear to be funded in the billions of U.S. dollars. ...In contrast, our work...is relatively funded by governments like it is a grade school bake sale. This must be fixed with urgency." youtu.be/fEv6n--Em6Q

My bike was stolen from Ealing Broadway bike racks right under a CCTV camera - understand that the police can’t look at hours of footage for every theft. But how can I get access to the footage?

I was consulted recently by an editor of an interdisciplinary journal who was ready to retract a paper based on hallucinated citations. It’s a real research integrity problem, and it’s arriving in humanities and social sciences publishing. (It’s already been a problem in STEM.)

New @therestpolitics.bsky.social LEADING - President Zelensky. Absolutely compelling on all things war and peace, Trump and Putin. Also listen to the end for real empathy and emotion. Ps as this interview landed we have postponed part 2 populism series to next Fri podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

I can’t let go of this story - and these photos. A dog and a cat were evacuated from the front line by Ukrainian Defenders using a drone. The animals flew more than 12 km and are now safe. If they made it, then we can do so much more - and we will.

From my opening speech at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit. Disinformation sets the stage for corruption.

🔴James Orr and the Messianic Transatlantic MAGA Alliance Trying to 'Save' Britain @peterjukes.bsky.social and @nafeez.bsky.social reveal how Nigel Farage’s new head of policy is the key ideological linkman for Palantir’s Peter Thiel and Sir Paul Marshall’s GB News bylinetimes.com/2026/04/07/j...

Imagine a foreign adversary, during negotiations, unilaterally attacked and destroyed Harvard, Yale, MIT and 50 other universities and cancer research centers, killing students and even targeting professors in their homes. It would be greatest outrage of the century.

A viral dog rescue from 2016 is now immortalized with a statue in Kazakhstan. When a dog fell into the Sayran reservoir, bystanders formed a human chain to pull him to safety. The statue is a reminder of the value of unity, solidarity and collective action. 14/10 for all

Even in the House of Lords, Lord Michael Gove finds a way to continue his Machiavellian streak.

Universities should move beyond symbolic emeritus titles to create structured pathways for meaningful post-retirement contribution, say Theresa Mercer and Jim Harris: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/lifelong-engagement-lifeblood-academy #AcademicChatter #Academia #HigherEd #AcademicSky

The full interview with Diane Benscoter is available on the Cambridge Disinformation Summit YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-j3...

New best practices are being published to help comics festivals become more accessible and inclusive for autistic fans. And of course, they are themselves available as a comic: www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/3b21a6... Read more: content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/2603...

AI toys that ‘talk’ to young children are coming, but are they safe? 🤖🧸 A new @camedfac.bsky.social report recommends safety kitemarks for AI toys, as research shows these toys can confuse children and hinder pretend play. Learn more about this new study 👇 https://bit.ly/4s8CDFp

It is quite amusing to me how so many people don’t understand scale . You would have to have a fleet of around 100k trucks running 24/7 down a road twice the size of the M25 Volumes of oil transitioning this strait are around 20 million barrels a day. Roughly 70% world trade volume

Fully *one year later*, the Telegraph has been forced (by @ipso.co.uk) to admit that it was lying about foreign nationals claiming benefits.

We only have about 25 (free!) tickets left for our @cambridgefestival.bsky.social discussion on 18 March: Have we lost the ability to debate immigration – and what can education do about it? If you would like to join us, please sign up soon at: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/have-we-lo...

A new blog from the Enhancing the Impartiality of News project takes a look at who appeared on Question Time throughout 2025 & what those guest choices reveal about how the programme interprets political balance. 🔗 bit.ly/4jLeYY2 🧵👇 #BBC #QuestionTime #impartiality #impartialityproject

Ahh nothing to see here but Dominic Cummings, spouting pure Putin/Kremlin propaganda, while wishing the death of British citizens. Brexit making more sense now?

Sad news from Bristol Zoo Project. Rest in peace, Jock. bristolzoo.org.uk/news/remembe...

Pleased to announce that The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia, will offer a keynote discussion about “the effects of concentrated media ownership on democracy,” at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit. www.malcolmturnbull.com.au

Pleased to announce that a keynote speaker for the Cambridge Disinformation Summit is 2001 Nobel Economist, Prof Joseph E. Stiglitz. Prof Stiglitz will discuss systemic economic risks from disinformation and from platforms that amplify or monetize disinformation. business.columbia.edu/stiglitz

What happens when you teach sixth formers to teach? Charle Pettit, an affiliated lecturer on the Cambridge PGCE, decided to find out with students at his school, and early results suggest that a remarkable form of self-sustaining learning emerged. content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/self...

The number of students studying for British degrees overseas has risen sharply over the past decade. This new study suggests the expansion is exporting not just British degrees, but the hierarchies of Britain’s highly stratified higher education system. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A University of Cambridge spin-out has developed what it says is the UK’s first automated free-speech compliance system for universities, amid concerns that institutions are struggling to interpret new freedom of speech rules. content.educ.cam.ac.uk/content/camb...

In terms of what cures are being lost: - Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis - herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis - shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease

Billionaires couldn’t care less about immigration really. What they care about is getting people riled up about immigration so as they’ll vote for the far right who’ll implement an agenda that protects their wealth

Did our feral political press pack call time on Starmer prematurely? Accusations are flying . markurban.substack.com/p/did-the-lo...

Lineup for day 2 of the Cambridge Disinformation Summit.

I joined @arusbridger.bsky.social and @lionelbarber.bsky.social to discuss my work and the work of Bellingcat, why I don't like Seymour Hersh, and getting verified information out quickly on the ICE shootings. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/med...

She fell off a bridge after being scared by a truck. The last 2 months have been hard with her confidence shot. But things have changed a lot. Her tail is wagging, she is coming alive again and she has even found love. Bridget

News from the ‘multiverse’ . Varsity the student paper at Cambridge University reported that James Orr hosted Peter Thiel last week. Orr glowed about a ‘stunningly original and erudite series of lectures. Thiel is the walking antidote to the modern multiversity. The highlight of our academic year.”

If you need some proof there is good in the world this is it. Prepare to smile niallharbison.substack.com/p/people-jus...

We are deeply grateful to everyone who helps Ukrainians survive this brutal winter. We are not alone in this horror. Marat from Kazakhstan has opened up a yurt with heating for the residents of Desniansky district in Kyiv, hit very hard by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.