The inauguration of Joe Biden as US president delivered a severe blow to followers of the Qanon conspiracy theory. Without their central figure, Donald Trump, where will adherents of this movement go next? In this post, I present my thoughts based on a recent discussion I had with Canada’s CTV News. What is Qanon? Firstly, … Read more
This post is based on a panel talk I gave for TEDx MidAtlantic, entitled ‘The Threat of Tribalism’, on October 13, 2020. Video version below, also featuring Jennifer Kavanagh of RAND Corporation. Why has the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US and the UK so badly? Political tribalism is partly to blame, for compromising our public … Read more
Introduction In this week’s article, I’m going to delve into the important issue of online voter suppression. I’ll give some examples of what voter suppression attempts look like on social media and explain specifically how disinformation is involved. I’ll also discuss the psychological drivers that make online voter suppression effective. In closing, I’ll suggest some … Read more
After spending almost a year tracking coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of Facebook and Google, I’ve developed a good sense of how an inauthentic social media user looks and acts online. Each platform has its own nuances. But many universal patterns indicate the likelihood of coordinated activity. Here I’ll discuss three common indicators – and … Read more
Online disinformation in Europe Despite the much-publicised role of online disinformation in bringing Donald Trump to power, disinformation is not just a US problem. It affects European countries too. Over the past five years, disinformation campaigns on social media have exploited social cracks and pitted various identity groups against each other. We only have to … Read more
In this post, I’ll discuss the all-too-common problem of online trolling and explain some troll tactics. I’ll also look at the important links between online trolling, disinformation and cyber warfare campaigns. What is online trolling? Anyone who has spent much time on social media has likely experienced their fair share of online trolling. Unfortunately, it’s … Read more