How Influencers Indirectly Mobilise Action and Legitimate Violence Influencers are key mobilisers of collective action, shaping narratives that create urgency, define group norms, and can indirectly legitimate violence without issuing explicit calls to action.

A look at how influencers can indirectly mobilise followers by defining group boundaries and norms.

✍️Author: @darja.bsky.social

crestresearch.ac.uk/comment/how-...

Telegram channel on a mobile phone credit AdobeStock

New study from @darja.bsky.social and colleagues @idsbbath.bsky.social shows how Tommy Robinson's Telegram channel at the time of the 2024 UK riots "set up a world view where violence felt like a natural, even necessary response" @uniofbathsom.bsky.social
www.bath.ac.uk/announcement...

Flat Earth, spirits and conspiracy theories – experience can shape even extraordinary beliefs Conspiracy thinking, supernatural beliefs and pseudoscience can seem impervious to evidence. An anthropologist suggests the opposite: Extraordinary beliefs may be supported by an individual’s experien...

"Misinformation about science and politics is rampant and immensely dangerous. By recognizing how those beliefs are shaped by experience, researchers can find better ways to combat their spread."
theconversation.com/flat-earth-s...

Keine Entwarnung Nachdem im Jahr 2024 beobachtet werden konnte, wie sich eine neue Generation Neonazis formierte und vermehrt gegen CSD-Veranstaltungen mobilisierte, haben im Jahr 2025 rechtsextreme (Jugend-)Gruppen e...

Keine Entwarnung: Die durchschnittliche Teilnehmendenzahl sank zwar, insgesamt fanden jedoch 2025 mehr rechtsextreme Anti-CSD-Aufmärsche statt als im Vorjahr. Die Mobilisierung bleibt weiterhin dynamisch und bedrohlich, wie unser neues Research Paper zeigt: cemas.io/publikatione...

‘Ask your daughters’: Merz defends his call for large-scale deportations German chancellor is accused of taking a page from extremist parties with ‘dangerous’ rhetoric on immigration

Like the US much vaunted "checks and balances, it "looks like Germany's so-called “firewall,” which bars cooperation in government with the AfD, is on its way out or at the very least is now up for debate. #LettuceShelflife www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Promotional image from the University of Bath depicting Professor Laura Smith standing in a modern office environment, with text overlay that reads, 'How Bath is shaping social policy through digital security research.' Research Impact logo is also visible.

Research at Bath is creating a more innovative, safe, secure and resilient #digital society.

Learn how work in @idsbbath.bsky.social is keeping people safe online.

stories.bath.ac.uk/research-with-impact/how...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Study: ‘Most People with Long COVID Are Their Own Doctors’: Self-Tracking and Online Patient Groups as Pathways to Challenging Epistemic Injustice.

Published: July 20, 2025

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Happy to share my first published article based on my PhD in Party Politics with @journals.sagepub.com in open access!

doi.org/10.1177/1354...

Looking forward to see this timely book come together! I'm very excited to contribute a chapter about video analysis

We are thrilled to be able to bring together esteemed colleagues from different disciplines: Atte Oksanen, Olivia Brown, Darja Wischerath, Stephane Baele, Javier Torregrosa, Charlie Stoeldraaijers, @joncollins.bsky.social, @lizzypearson.bsky.social, Harley Williamson, Miriam Fernandez and Maria Vau

I am pleased to share that @isabellevdv.bsky.social, @ryanscrivens.bsky.social and I have just signed a contract with @uclpress.bsky.social to co-edit an open-access book that will discuss ‘Methods for Studying Extremism and Terrorism Online’.
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[It has been a while, but...] New annotated resource on #SocialMediaViolence:

Rage against the machine: Exploring violence and emotion in conspiracy narratives on Parler, by @darja.bsky.social et al.

Read my notes here: esteban-morales.com/lit-review-v...

Trump authorizes 2,000 national guard troops to deploy to LA amid Ice protests California governor calls move ‘purposefully inflammatory’ and says it will ‘escalate tensions’ amid immigration crackdown

Reminder: In den USA passiert all das, was sich die AfD in Deutschland wünscht. Schaut nicht nur schockiert/schadenfroh zu, sondern wehrt euch, wo ihr könnt.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

A chart showing cancelled NIH grants

“I would like to cure brain cancer. I think that's not particularly controversial.” Be that as it may, the NIH terminated that scientist's grant. Here's a huge survey of the 2,500 grants that NIH has killed or delayed...so far. Gift link: nyti.ms/43Jz1yJ

Online toxic speech as positioning acts: Hate as discursive mechanisms for othering and belonging - Esteban Morales, Jaigris Hodson, Victoria O’Meara, Anatoliy Gruzd, Philip Mai, 2025 While digital platforms foster a sense of community and identity, they also facilitate harmful exclusionary practices. In this context, toxic and hateful speech...

I am happy to share my latest article, now published in New Media & Society: “Online toxic speech as positioning acts: Hate as discursive mechanisms for othering and belonging.” journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

With @jhodson.bsky.social, Victoria O'Meara, @gruzd.ca and @philipmai.com

(S+) AfD ist rechtsextrem: Hier sind die Belege des Verfassungsschutzes Auf 1108 Seiten führt der Verfassungsschutz Belege auf, die zeigen sollen: Die gesamte AfD ist rechtsextrem. Der SPIEGEL hat die interne Analyse interaktiv aufbereitet. Welche Politiker mit welchen Au...

Der Spiegel hat das AfD-Gutachten des Bundesamts für Verfassungsschutz durchforstet & ihr könnt auf dieser Seite jetzt die einzelnen Aussagen nach Personen & Themen sortiert abrufen:

🚨 New article with the brilliant @joshuafmolloy.bsky.social

We dive into the online community of right-wing body builders (RWBB) 🥚🥩🥛

open access: sciendo.com/article/10.2...

How can institutions better support researchers? The case of extremism and terrorism research - Audrey Gagnon, Tamta Gelashvili, 2025 Research in certain fields of study may carry emotional and safety-related risks. For example, scholars in the field of extremism and terrorism often navigate p...

Excited to share this new article co-authored with the amazing @tamtagelashvili.bsky.social on how institutions can foster safe organizational cultures and support researchers working on extremism & terrorism through safety tools and protocols doi.org/10.1177/1468...

Incredibly excited to be a part of this event! Come check out everything to do with ECR networks in the space of political violence and extremism. @VOX_Pol is represented by Brenna and myself with the next gen network.

Inventar der Migrationsbegriffe

Entmenschlichung läuft auch (nicht nur) über Sprache. Zum demokratischen Anstand gehört, dass auch die Begriffe, mit denen über Migration gesprochen wird, wieder zu ihrem Recht kommen. Das "Inventar der Migrationsbegriffe" leistet hier super Arbeit. Kann ich nur empfehlen
www.migrationsbegriffe.de

Call for papers for a special issue. Special issue title is Responding to socio-political challenges online through radical or extreme narratives and alternative forms of collective identities. Guest Editors: Theofilos Gkinopoulos (Behavior in Crisis Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University), Malgorzata Kossowska (Behavior in Crisis Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University), Ana Guinote (University College London), Jesper Strömbäck (University of Gothenburg)

Special Issue Alert!

How do digital & social media fuel alternative identities, extreme narratives & online communities in times of crisis?

Submit your work exploring their role in propaganda, misinformation, and reshaping society!

ispp.org/wp/wp-conten...

@polpsyispp.bsky.social #polisky

We're excited to announce the launch of Bath Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour (@idsbbath.bsky.social) under the leadership of co-directors Professor Laura Smith and Professor Adam Joinson.

Find out more here ⤵️

https://buff.ly/40T8izm

A new study from @emilygodwin.bsky.social and @britdavidson.bsky.social shows the sinister side to memes, revealing their role in strengthening online communities of conspiracy theorists and helping to spread harmful beliefs
www.bath.ac.uk/announcement...

Call for applications: PhD summer School Studying Online Extremism - C-REX - Center for Research on Extremism Studying Online Extremism: Ethics, Methods and Personal Safety (2nd edition)

📣 Call for applications 📣 @audreygagnon.bsky.social & Nicola Mathieson are collaborating with @crexuio.bsky.social and VOX-Pol to organize a PhD Summer School on the study of online right-wing extremism, to be held in Oslo from 9-13 June 2025! For more info: www.sv.uio.no/c-rex/englis...

Brilliant new research from my colleague @emilygodwin.bsky.social about memes and conspiracy narratives!

Key contributions:
• Develops a new theoretical framework for understanding memes as cultural representations
• Demonstrates how memes help maintain community cohesion and alleviate tensions in online spaces
• Advances a revised methodology for studying memetic communication

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

I am excited to share my latest research paper published in Social Media + Society, titled 'Internet Memes as Stabilizers of Conspiracy Culture: A Cognitive Anthropological Analysis' and co-authored with @britdavidson.bsky.social, Tim Hill, and Adam Joinson.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Call for applications: PhD summer School Studying Online Extremism - C-REX - Center for Research on Extremism Studying Online Extremism: Ethics, Methods and Personal Safety (2nd edition)

📣 Call for applications 📣 Nicola Mathieson and I are collaborating with @crexuio.bsky.social and VOX-Pol to organize a PhD Summer School on the study of online right-wing extremism, to be held in Oslo from 9-13 June 2025! For more info and to apply: www.sv.uio.no/c-rex/englis...

Inaugural Conference of the Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy, Queen Mary University of London, 9 – 10 June 2025 New and Old Challenges of Populism and Radicalism

📯 Introducing a ✨ NEW conference ✨ for researchers specialising in extremism, democracy, and populism

🥇 Inaugural Conference of @ecpr-ead.bsky.social
🕰️ New and Old Challenges of #Populism and #Radicalism
💂‍♂️ Hosted by @qmul.ac.uk
📅 9–10 June 2025
✍️ Submit your Panel or Paper by 3 March