My latest, for @techpolicypress.bsky.social
When I read Alex Karp’s book last year, I thought it should’ve been a tweet. Now Palantir has turned it into a tweet-length manifesto, which could’ve just been a picture of a MAGA hat.
Karp is… not a subtle thinker.
www.techpolicy.press/palantirs-ma...
Comments from myself and others, including @selimkoru.bsky.social, in this article on Turkey's continued slide into authoritarianism.
It isn't on the world's radar anymore, but it's still getting worse.
as.ft.com/r/392d9017-b...
As Hungary votes, would recommend this piece about how Viktor Orban has used public money to bankroll an international ultraconservative network - including Roger Scruton cafes and €10k a month for failed Reform candidate Matt Goodwin
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits
I’ll be presenting our work on the 2023 election rallies in Turkey this Thursday at the Political Psychology seminar. We’ll explore how crowd events like political rallies attempt to define a vision of the future and who belongs in it. Register through the link to join..
Amid an intense backlash led by Spain, Ursula von der Leyen goes on the record to clarify where she stands on the rules-based order.
Full story.
“The videos shown to the data annotators also go further, including credit card details and sexual acts. While some footage certainly could've been filmed on purpose by the user, it's thought that many instances were caught without the user or the video's subjects being fully aware.“
One of my favourite sides of politics/media.
Call for Blog Posts by Early Career Researchers! The ISPP Early Career Committee are seeking blog posts based on empirical research conducted by early-career researchers. Selected blog posts will be published on the Political Psychology Medium page. Deadline: 20th March 2026 Requirements: 1 Based on empirical research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods). 2 Lead author must be an early career researcher. 3 May be based on published or unpublished work. Submissions must include: 1 Main text (<1000 words, excl. references & author bio). 2 Authors and affiliations. 3 Brief author biography. 4 DOI (if based on published work). Optional: Figures, appendices. Submissions can be sent to ispp.ecc@gmail.com.
‼️ Attention Early Career Researchers!
📖 The Early Career Committee are seeking #BlogPosts based on empirical research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) lead by ECRs.
👇 Details below - submissions can be sent to ispp.ecc@gmail.com by 20th March 2025.
Read this sentence slowly:
“Gov. Gavin Newsom, crypto executives and business leaders are ramping up efforts this week to stop the proposed wealth tax...”
gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...
Prediction markets warp reality by manufacturing false narratives of consensus. When these fake indicators spread through media, they can influence public opinion (undecided people tend to favor what they think is popular, see "social proof.")
A dangerous tool, and CNN has a partnership, too.
"Moderna's CEO announced the company will no longer invest in new Phase 3 vaccine trials for infectious diseases: 'You cannot make a return on investment if you don't have access to the U.S. market. Vaccines for Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, and shingles have been shelved.” 9:12 AM Feb 12, 2026 604.8K Views
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
ICE's attempt to access EU biometric data is extremely worrying & unacceptable
EU must oppose the sharing of biometric data with the US while fundamental rights are at risk in the current political climate
Data protection is a pillar of our sovereignty & not a bargaining chip
Our paper on anti-refugee discourses are now available!!! “Justifying violence and hostility through discourse: A critical discursive psychology analysis of anti-refugee hostility on social media during disasters”
Please see below for the link!!
A former scholar of the far right will stand as a far-right candidate in the U.K.
Anyone who knows Matt, or has followed his career, will not be surprised by this. It is, nevertheless, a good reminder that the tides have turned and the grift is moving (far) right these days, also within academia.
Democracy doesn’t require perfect truth—but it does require something more fragile: independent voices. The “wisdom of crowds” depends on independence between judgments. If a single actor can speak through thousands of inauthentic accounts, the apparent consensus of the crowd stops being informative
Native Americans are being swept up by ICE in Minneapolis, tribes say www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Ankara is unlikely to fulfill its ambition to build a Turkish-led order in the Levant and beyond, argues @asliaydintasbas.bsky.social. “Turkey simply lacks the economic capacity to underwrite Syria’s reconstruction—or any other major regional project, for that matter.”
In a normally functioning country, he would not have been imprisoned in the first place.
📰 Sunday extras:
"Dirty Work—The Hidden Machinery and Human Toll of Europe’s Broken Recycling Trade" by Adnan Khan. [1/5]
📣 Last paper of the year is out in the British Journal of Social Psychology! #OpenAccess
Honour across borders: How cultural norms shape prejudice confrontation in migration contexts
doi.org/10.1111/bjso...
This was not an easy one to write, but here it is!
🎈🤡 Freshly published in Collabra: Psychology: the life and death of one of the coolest findings in my PhD dissertation. 🎈🤡
With the usual – and wonderful – Karen M. Douglas, @paulbertin.bsky.social, and @olivierklein.bsky.social.
1/11
Are welfare states bankrupting Europe—or saving its democracy?
In ForeignPolicy, Omer Taspinar argues that strong welfare states aren’t the source of Europe’s democratic crisis—they’re one of the few tools left to stop populism and authoritarianism. foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/12/e...
Kids, wake up. New Network State just dropped.
How many times do we need to point this out?
By appeasing the far right, you do not weaken it. You strengthen it.
While weakening your own position.
There's a vast amount of academic research showing this.
But Labour will not listen.
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec...
WSJ story on pardon of Honduras' drug-trafficker ex-president notes his role in “Próspera, a libertarian ‘startup city’ backed by Silicon Valley investors including Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen.”
“A Thiel spokesman said Thiel wasn’t involved in the pardon.”
🎁 link:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
New working paper about a question that’s been a splinter in my brain for years – and I know I’m not alone: can researchers draw conclusions about “belief in conspiracy theories” while our research samples consist mostly of people who reject such beliefs? 1/10
link: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Please take a minute to scroll through this—and share it.
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
Thanks to @bps-social-psych.bsky.social for bringing my notes together from the event that @merveozturkey.bsky.social & I organized.
Reflections came from the responses of: @profjohndrury.bsky.social @lucygobag.bsky.social Dr Rim Saab and Dr Nihan Albayrak-Aydemir
www.bps.org.uk/news/rising-...
