Australian media and politicians have taken a huge interest in an overseas figure the vast majority of their constituents would have never heard of prior to September 10, @theshufflediary.bsky.social writes.

It was great to listen to @essideh.com discuss his new book, The Discursive-Digital Link this week! 📖 📚 🎉

Appalled that Donald Trump is at the US Open, but deeply satisfied that he got booed for the five seconds he was broadcast. How authoritarian that the US Open organisers have had to instruct the broadcasters to mute any booing.

You guys

Some super interesting case studies in this issue - would highly recommend for fandom scholars!

Apparently a completely peaceful march across Sydney Harbour Bridge today was extremely perilous. Yet somehow fewer people (i.e. nobody) died today than when NSW Police were asked to assist with a 95-year-old nursing home resident behaving erratically.

Good shit Sydney

Happy publication week! 🎉 I had the genuine pleasure of chatting with @arielbogle.bsky.social and @cameronwilson.bsky.social last week about their new book, CONSPIRACY NATION. Can confirm, it’s an excellent read. You can hear their thoughts on the link below: open.spotify.com/episode/00Go...

We were lucky to be joined by @arielbogle.bsky.social and @cameronwilson.bsky.social on the Read Them Sideways podcast to talk about their new book with host, @katemfitzgerald.bsky.social. open.spotify.com/episode/00Go...

It was fantastic to collaborate with my colleague @phzerosounds.bsky.social on this piece! The Epstein files drama doesn't seem to be going away, so watch this space for further thoughts...

New research shows that believers in conspiracy theories have no idea how fringe their own beliefs are, and they vastly overestimate their own abilities journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

This was one of the most fun (and longest...) episodes we have recorded! Was great to chat 10 years of Trumpism with @phzerosounds.bsky.social, @timothyjgraham.bsky.social, @kkasianenko.bsky.social and our excellent host @svegaard.bsky.social.

BREAKING: Judge Breyer orders Trump to return control of the National Guard back to California, saying the call-up was illegal. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Great work from my co-host @svegaard.bsky.social and my good colleague Vish on the most recent episode of the podcast! They chat #Netflix Adolescence, #radicalisation, and the manosphere. Definitely worth a listen for everyone who also binge watched this show!

🚨 “Would the Coalition’s plan reduce energy bills by more than Labor’s?” The Conversation asked five experts, and all of them said “no”. Here are their detailed responses. ⤵️ #auspol theconversation.com/would-the-co...

I had the opportunity to have a quick chat with @vilkins.bsky.social for the Read Them Sideways podcast about our recent work on the Australian federal election campaign. We talk about the trends we've observed on Facebook and Instagram so far. #ausvotes #auspol open.spotify.com/episode/2eHG...

So good to be surrounded by talented colleagues doing such innovative work in our field. :)

Some interesting insights we've observed so far in the election campaign! #auspol

It was great to have @carlylubicz.bsky.social on the Read Them Sideways podcast this week!

Can't wait to read this! My research looks largely at international conspiracy theories, so can't wait to see what Cam and Ariel have uncovered here at home.

QUELLE SURPRISE

We have just updated our Starter Pack to include some of our new additions to the DMRC and incoming PhD students - make sure you are following to keep up to date on everything coming out of the DMRC! 💪👀

A sobering topic, but always a delight to speak to @lucinda-nelson.bsky.social!

Very important work from excellent colleagues @riedlinm.bsky.social and @nedwatt.bsky.social at the @qutdmrc.bsky.social!

Great work from my colleagues @kathaesa.bsky.social, @snurb.info and @tariqchoucair.bsky.social. Looking forward to reading the rest of the DMRC x 360Info collaborations over the coming weeks and months. 💪

An excellent episode of the podcast with @svegaard.bsky.social and @steelecat717.bsky.social! Thank you so much Catherine for taking the time out of your busy schedule at the DMRC during the recent Summer School to speak with us about your work.

From bunkering down in mansions to using yachts as life boats, Peter Dutton has tips for everyday Aussies during this trying time chaser.com.au/newsletter/d...

It's our 20th episode of Read Them Sideways and a hugely important one. Sebastian Svegaard (@svegaard.bsky.social) spoke with Kateryna Kasianenko (@kkasianenko.bsky.social) and Olga Boichak. 🌻 open.spotify.com/episode/0yP3...

The *only* positive to Elon Musk’s tenure at X is that Community Notes data is free to access and regularly updated… I don’t see this continuing if he is going to be continually fact checked as he tries to expand his political influence.

Great thread!

New episode of Read Them Sideways out with Klaus Grobner - we’re going to bring you monthly segments where we debunk recent events that have been surrounded by misinformation or conspiracy theories. Would love to hear any suggestions!

I had the chance to chat with @vilkins.bsky.social about #TikTok going dark, the strategic timing during #inauguration week, and what's next for the platform. You can listen to the latest episode of Read Them Sideways below! open.spotify.com/episode/7y2f...

The Read Them Sideways podcast is back from our summer hiatus! @phzerosounds.bsky.social, our editor, has stepped up to host this week. Stephen speaks with @nedwatt.bsky.social and @riedlinm.bsky.social about the changes to Meta's fact checking program. open.spotify.com/episode/6tg3...

There was an article during MeToo about how powerful men are seen as intellectual giants who can run economies while not being smart enough to know what sexual assault is. Now we see a similar dynamic, where Musk is a genius who can co-run the US while being too stupid to know what a Nazi salute is.

Trump’s pardon of Jan 6 attackers corrupts the rule of law and rewrites history. These were not “hostages.” These were people who used brute force to commit vigilante violence.

As a reporter who covered the Facebook apology tour circa 2016, and spent HOURS on the phone with FB flak and executives earnestly telling me Zuckerberg was torn up over Russian election interference and was making it a top priority to fix misinfo on FB, this week’s developments are 🙃

Watching as to whether Meta has another Instagram float in Mardi Gras this year 👀 amp.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Great overview of the consequences of Meta’s changes to fact checking policies from colleagues @riedlinm.bsky.social, @nedwatt.bsky.social and @silmonn.bsky.social.

The policy change by Meta to remove fact checkers & adopt a Community Notes style approach, as on X, is a move towards increased misinformation, hate speech, and divisive content being amplified on the platform. The other changes will have wide ranging impacts, particularly for marginalised groups.

Can’t wait to get stuck into this when I’m back at my desk for 2025 🤓

98 women have been killed by violence in Australia this year, according to Australia Femicide Watch. 98 women, gone. Some you heard of, most you didn’t. Forever grateful for the work of @sherelemoody.bsky.social to make sure we don’t forget.

Very excited to have been part of a team that was awarded a 2024 CIESJ Faculty Award for Contribution to Public Policy and Debate! 🏆

AI imagery and truth – “The issue we have with people constructing the truth and making sense of the world through images is that they are difficult to verify and fact-check", explains @timothyjgraham.bsky.social. #FairElections

It is fantastic to be involved in this timely and interesting project. Thank you to @kathaesa.bsky.social for presenting our findings thus far at #JERAA2024!

Our preprint on a gap of trust in climate scientists vs scientists in general is featured in @science.org‘s news. Thanks to @omidghasemi.bsky.social who led this analysis and @cathleenogrady.bsky.social for reporting! 🔍 Preprint: osf.io/preprints/os... 📰 Science: www.science.org/content/arti...

Re-posting our QUT Digital Media Centre now we’ve had a few additions and as more people join 🦋 !

TikTok approved ads containing harmful disinformation and voter suppression messages relating to the Irish general election, according to an investigation by campaign group Global Witness www.businesspost.ie/news/tiktok-...

It was great to have the opportunity to present on research that I've been working on with @vilkins.bsky.social, @svegaard.bsky.social and @snurb.info from @qutdmrc.bsky.social at #aanzca24 this morning! ☺️

Apropos Elon Musk's recent discussions of citizen journalism and the claims that X users "are the media now", I thought it appropriate to share a Medium post I wrote a few months back about the Community Notes system on X. medium.com/@katemfitzge...

Calling people who correct false information a censorship regime is of course, a great example of Doublespeak. The whole foundation of scientific knowledge is based on the search for truth, and correcting for falsehoods. www.ft.com/content/bfb4...