Important thread about how the BBC mitigates political polarisation in the 🇬🇧 because it’s so widely consumed compared to the 🇺🇸 where people rely on a wide range of information sources 👇

As a conlang fan & language nerd, I couldn’t resist seeing Predator: Badlands this weekend. This instalment takes the Predator universe in an exciting linguistic direction. For the first time, the Yautja have been given a fully constructed language. 🔗 tinyurl.com/k5n6k5kp 🧵👇 #langsky

Over the past few weeks, #Roblox has been making headlines following reports of children being groomed for both child abuse & extremism through the platform. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yu3dytn8 🧵👇 #DRAGON #Roblox #onlinesafety #onlineharms #childsafeguarding #onlinegroomingawareness

It’s been one of the most turbulent weeks in British broadcasting. This article from @theguardian.com provides a detailed timeline of what happened over the past week: tinyurl.com/3xu8tmaf 🧵👇 #impartiality #impartialityproject #BBC #bias #journalism #journalismstudies #media #mediastudies

A U.S. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at White House press briefings — after the president’s legal team argued he shouldn’t have to “share a platform.” 🔗 tinyurl.com/4rbk8ay6 🧵👇 #langsky #signlanguage #politicaldiscourse

Our new @cujournmedcul.bsky.social study of how the #Caerphilly by-election was reported featured in @nation.cymru - the distinction between how Wales and UK-wide media cover the Senedd elections next year could be significant given more people rely on news produced in England than in Wales 👇

A new research article from the #DRAGON team offers new insights into how children use language to push back against groomers during online interactions. 🔗 tinyurl.com/23yc7s5r 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #research #langsky #linguistics #discourseanalysis #forensiclinguistics

764 is a sextortion network which coerces minors into producing Child Sexual Abuse Material and then uses the content to force them into acts of violence, including self-harm. Some cases tragically end in suicide. 🔽

A new blog post from the impartiality project at @cujournmedcul.bsky.social, analyses how BBC Wales & ITV Wales covered the Caerphilly by-election across TV, online & social media. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yc46mcpw 🧵👇 #impartiality #impartialityproject #journalism #Caerphilly #Caerphillybyelection

✨ It’s the most wonderful time of the year — Word of the Year season! ✨ Collins Dictionary has just crowned its 2025 winner, and this one perfectly captures our AI-infused era: “vibe coding.” 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #wordoftheyear #woty

Australia’s new under-16 social media ban marks a major shift in how governments are tackling online harms — but as eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman - Grant has warned, even exempted platforms like Roblox are not automatically safe. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4kw5zcjh TLDR 👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety

Its *Bonfire/Firework Night* in the UK tonight...https://language-and-innovation.com/2018/11/05/poor-guy-a-fawkesian-miscellany/

This lunchtime, I attended a fascinating research seminar by Pilar Garces Blitvich exploring the mediality of forgiveness — how digital spaces shape who gets forgiven & how apologies are received. 🧵👇 #langsky #politenessstudies #digitaldiscourse

Once upon a time, political debates were about policy and persuasion. Now? They’re about performance — and what can be clipped, captioned, and remixed into a meme. What does this mean for political discourse as a whole? 🔗 tinyurl.com/yv98ssf7 TLDR 👇 #langsky #polsky #politicaldiscourse

This week, the UK Government announced major new measures to strengthen protections against online sexual harm — extending justice for victims & tackling the most violent & degrading forms of content online. 🔗 tinyurl.com/bdfk8yhj TLDR 👇 #DRAGON #onlineharms #onlinesafety #onlineabuse

It’s easy to dismiss the humble exclamation mark as harmless enthusiasm — but new research suggests it says a lot about gender, communication, & power. 🔗 tinyurl.com/bdd994dy TLDR 👇 #langsky #linguistics #appliedlinguistics #language #languageandgender #languageandpower #punctuation

Ofcom has ruled TalkTV breached its impartiality rules after host Kevin O’Sullivan claimed the UK Government had “cancelled” local elections out of fear of Reform UK’s rise in the polls. 🔗 tinyurl.com/u55jmwbp TLDR 👇 #impartialityproject #politicalnews #politicaldiscourse #Ofcom #impartality

A new article for @lseblogs.bsky.social reveals that while most countries now mention children in their digital policies, very few actually consult them — even on issues that directly shape their online lives. 🔗 tinyurl.com/n4x7hcex TLDR 👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #youthengagement

The Caerphilly Senedd by-election delivered a surprise result. Polling had suggested Reform UK would take the seat, with Plaid Cymru trailing. Instead, Plaid won comfortably & Reform finished second by a wide margin. So what went wrong? 🔗 tinyurl.com/ahdzcs6h TLDR 👇 #Caerphilly #byelection

In 1990, Stephen “Shorty” Jamieson was convicted of murder based on a typed confession police claimed captured his words “exactly as he said them.” New linguistic research suggests that may not be possible. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3sm3jabp TLDR 👇 #langsky #linguistics #forensiclinguistics

In honour of #IslamophobiaAwarenessMonth, #Identities is sharing our Special Collection, 'Global Perspectives and Local Encounters on #Islamophobia', with #FreeAccess throughout November: www.tandfonline.com/...#IslamophobiaAwarenessMonth,#Identities#Islamophobia',#FreeAccessasarmeer.bsky.social @aaronwinter.bsky.social @tandfresearch.bsky.social

Ofcom just ruled that Talk breached due impartiality rules in Jan 2025 because a presenter said the Government was “scared of Reform UK” after cancelling some council elections. But offered no alternative perspectives. A sign of Ofcom becoming a more robust regulator? ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/res…

In a move for online safety, Character.AI has announced that from 25 November, users under 18 will no longer be able to chat with its virtual characters. 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... TLDR 👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #onlinegroomingprevention #childsafety #childsafeguarding

🎉 Today’s the day! We’re so excited to welcome everyone to our Digital Guardians: Co-Creation in Action event — part of the ESRC's Festival of Social Sciences 2025! #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #onlinegrooming #parents #caregivers #childsafety #childsafeguarding #childprotection

Since the Online Safety Act came into force last year, the UK has taken major steps to make the digital world safer for children — but campaigners say the work is far from finished. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yetrjkzy #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #childprotection #Ofcom #onlinesafetyact

From teenage honor student to dining at Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump: the story of Nick Fuentes shows how today’s digital ecosystem can turn fringe figures into influential extremists. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2vcd8s5u #radicalright #polsky #politicalextremism #politicaldiscourse #digitaldiscourse

🚨 Tomorrow's the day! 🚨 Register here: tinyurl.com/3avpdvm3 Feel free to share with your networks. #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #childprotection #childsafeguarding #onlinegroomingawareness #onlinegroomingprevention

New research suggests that while platforms like X & Facebook amplify polarised voices on issues like immigration, the story isn’t as simple as “social media causes hate.” 🔗 tinyurl.com/5cjyst7h TLDR 👇 #socialmedia #onlineharms #onlinesafety

Our systematic study of how TV and online news reported the by-election campaign provides similar points about the impartiality of broadcasters - see here: www.enhancingimpartiality.com/blog/final-w...

🤖“Think of it as Google Translate for sign language.” That’s how Elly Savatia, a young Kenyan entrepreneur, describes Terp 360 — his groundbreaking AI-powered web app that translates speech & text into sign language through photorealistic 3D avatars. Read more: tinyurl.com/42muu93b #langsky

New research by Dr Robert Jones (Cardiff University) & Dr Gregory Davies (University of Liverpool) reveals troubling accounts from Welsh-speaking inmates at Berwyn — Wales’ largest prison — who describe “outright hostility” to the Welsh language. 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... TLDR 👇 #langsky

If anyone wants to hear me talk about the impartiality of broadcasters, check out Roger Bolton’s latest Beeb watch podcast 👇 I discuss the latest findings of our @cujournmedcul.bsky.social AHRC project with @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social @perkinskeighley.bsky.social @maxwellmodell.bsky.social

We've updated our analysis of media coverage of the Caerphilly by-election to go in-depth on the final week of campaigning. Including an analysis of Chris Mason's BBC News at Ten report which gave Reform UK's candidate twice the airtime of Labour's or Plaid Cymru's. tinyurl.com/4kw6m5a6

Next week! Join us in Swansea for our Festival of Social Science event where we'll explore how parents & caregivers can confidently support children's online safety. 👉 Register: tinyurl.com/3avpdvm3 #DRAGON #FestivalofSocialScience #ESRC #onlinesafety #childsafeguarding #onlinegroomingprevention

Join us for our next LIP talk We are delighted to welcome Teun A. van Dijk (Centre of Discourse Studies, Barcelona) for the third talk of the term. Title: Discourse and Ideologies of the Radical Right Date & Time: Tuesday 28th October, 1-2pm (UK time) Location: MS Teams Online link: lnkd.in/eyvGGc7G

We're really keen to get the views of English teachers (in England) about the state of English teaching. If you have a few minutes to fill in our survey, we'd be very grateful.

Ever noticed how young children sometimes mix up b and d — or p and q? New research suggests the answer may lie not just in literacy, but in spatial reasoning. 🔗 tinyurl.com/5f2cvxjd TLDR 👇 #langsky #languageacquisition #linguistics #childlanguage

Got to attend my first event as part of @cujournmedcul.bsky.social: An Audience with Waad Al-Kateab. The BAFTA-winning Syrian journalist & filmmaker behind "For Sama" spoke about documenting life in Aleppo, working with UK broadcasters, & the challenges of filming through war. #journalism

Our latest findings significant for @greenparty.org.uk and @zackpolanski.bsky.social - if they sustain poll ratings they will gain more media coverage with the public supporting more balanced reporting of political parties 👇

As the Children's Commissioner for England highlighted last week, the Government’s new Crime and Policing Bill is a vital opportunity to strengthen child protection — but it must go further to truly keep children safe. 🔗 tinyurl.com/34h4kw9d TLDR 👇 #DRAGON #childprotection #childsafeguarding

From Dôl y Tylwyth Teg (Fairies’ Meadow) in Aberfan to Ffynnon Glog (Rock Well) in Gwynedd, Welsh placenames — some steeped in myth, others rooted in everyday history — are being submitted to a new project to preserve the stories written into the landscape. 🔗 tinyurl.com/m6bmrkxv TLDR 👇 #langsky

Team #DRAGON is counting down the days to our Digital Guardians workshop — part of the ESRC's Festival of Social Science 2025! 🎉 📅 When: Thursday 30 October | 2–4pm 📍 Where: Volcano Theatre, Swansea 🎟️ Free to attend — registration required! 👉 tinyurl.com/3avpdvm3 Please share! More info 👇

It’s another update from @stephencushion.bsky.social, @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @maxwellmodell.bsky.social & myself! We commissioned YouGov to carry out a survey exploring how the UK public thinks broadcast airtime should be allocated between political parties 🔗 tinyurl.com/5cms7mcp TLDR 👇

Thoughtful write-up of our latest audience study in @politicshome.bsky.social. We found the public supports the principle of impartiality, wants more balanced representation of political parties, and believe that more can be done to scrutinise the major political parties. tinyurl.com/yke8pkek

When Reform UK justified ending indefinite leave to remain by citing the “Boriswave,” it wasn’t just jargon. As @robtoes.bsky.social tells @helenpidd.bsky.social, the term originated on the far right — carrying racial undertones that reshape how we talk about migration. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2vzjwvyn

Our new @cujournmedcul.bsky.social research featured in the I paper showing news audiences want tougher scrutiny of Nigel Farage and Reform UK given the party could be heading for government. Thread 1/6

Most large language models today speak only a handful of the world’s 7,000+ languages. Across Africa, researchers & technologists are tackling this imbalance head-on — collecting ethically sourced, high-quality speech data & building AI that understands African languages. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3689x8bu

📺 New research from @cujournmedcul.bsky.social's Enhancing the Impartiality of Political News project Our latest study analyses how BBC Cymru Wales and ITV Wales have covered the Caerphilly by-election across TV, online & social media. 🔗 www.enhancingimpartiality.com/blog/bbc-itv... TLDR 👇

At least one incident of deepfake image-based abuse is now taking place every week in Australian schools, according to new data from the eSafety Commissioner. 🔗 tinyurl.com/mweukhwv TLDR 👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharm #childprotection #sextortion #childsafeguarding