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Cathy Otten

@cathyotten.bsky.social
172 followers 476 following 46 posts

Journalist, Visiting Assistant Professor of Media Ethics and Journalism at Rutgers. Director of the Journalism Initiative on Gender Peace and Security. Author 'With Ash on Their Faces' (OR 2017). Mancunian.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Cathy Otten
Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
As unprofessional as it may be, I suspect I will be shouting "we have been saying this for years" a lot today. Harsher immigration policies don't just ruin individual lives, they damage the economy, reduce jobs, and generally harm the whole country.
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Freedom from Torture @freedomfromtorture.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The labour party conference is underway. If you could ask policymakers one question about support for torture survivors, what would it be? Comment below 👇
Photo of home secretary Shabana Mahmood and Andy Burnham. "One thing we'd ask policymakers: how will your policies ensure torture survivors can access justice and protection?"
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Patrick Osgood @patrickosgood.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Every now and then - more now these days than then - you hear something like this by a respectable person in a calm voice on a respectable platform and get a kind of vertigo over how hateful and demented things have gotten in the UK. A very large part of public discourse is utterly insane.
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In 2025, Omer Shatz and colleagues submitted a second communication to the ICC: "European officials suspected of Crimes Against Humanity against ‘migrants’ on the Central Mediterranean route" www.crimesagainsthumanity.eu/en
crimesagainsthumanity.eu
EU Crimes Against Humanity
Exposing Crimes Against Humanity of European Officials
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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The complete and total collapse of state function in the face of far right extremists. It is frankly ludicrous that Daniel Thomas continues to be at large given the series of crimes committed which he has literally filmed.
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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The US cut health aid to Africa by 70%. Now, some of that aid money is being used to secure deportation deals with African governments www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Banished to alien lands: Trump’s secret deportation deals
After a plane journey in shackles, an Iranian woman found herself in the middle of Africa in a country she did not know existed. She is one of thousands deported from the US on the back of shadowy dea...
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Morgan Jones @morganj0nes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
i bet the focus groups would have gone crazy during the reformation
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Nick Candy and Holly Valance. Britain’s most expensive house. A £265m sale. Usual consequence: £32m of stamp duty. But five small flats were included in the sale. By an extraordinary happy accident, that cut the tax by £18.5m. The curious sale of Nick Candy’s mansion A 🧵:
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Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Easier to convict a victim than to live up to the UK’s obligations to refugees
bbc.co.uk
Chan Mathok Atak jailed over Channel boat with 165 migrants
Chan Mathok Atak has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after piloting the boat.
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Isabel Coles on the diplomatic backstory to last week's trade ban announcement observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk
Keir Starmer resisted pressure to ban trade with West Bank
Labour leadership reveal the former PM was the main impediment to new sanctions on Israelis illicitly residing in the occupied territory
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A campaign for *MSF* to be banned as a terrorist group (on the paper thin basis of claims about 2 past employees) is the product of the UK Govt being willing to divorce any meaningful conception of societal threat from its use of proscription powers. Govt needs to wake up to the madness of this:
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13/09/2026
Pregnant woman among more than 10 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza
theguardian.com
Pregnant woman among more than 10 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza
Woman’s family says she died of injuries after being shot in the head while sitting inside a tent near Khan Younis A pregnant Palestinian woman died on Saturday from injuries sustained after being shot in the head by Israeli forces south of Khan Younis, according to her family and medical workers, as strikes across Gaza killed at least 10 people in 48 hours. The woman, named as Iman Shalouf, 27, who was nearly eight months pregnant, was sitting inside her family’s tent in the al-Mawasi area when Israeli gunfire struck her, according to paramedics and witnesses. Continue reading...
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In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 12/09/2026
The 117 people who left Libya with Daniel did not share one fate. By the journey’s end, 79 had reached Italy, 35 had been returned to Libyan detention, and three had drowned. @cathyotten.bsky.social examines the hostile migration policies that shaped every outcome.
inthesetimes.com
Found, But Not Rescued
Could migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea be prosecuted as crimes against humanity?
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 08/09/2026
@ stephenkb.bsky.social hitting the nail on the head of course. "the Labour Party has now produced two governments whose response to acts of thuggery and intimidation is to reiterate that perhaps the thugs have a point" - as.ft.com/r/97d33f08-a...
as.ft.com
Labour’s muddled migration policy won’t stop thuggery
A government that can’t distinguish between ‘legitimate concerns’ and open racism is only making things worse
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Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 29/05/2026
LOLOL "What stood out most was ꜱᴛʀᴜᴄᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ʙᴀᴄᴋ-ᴇɴᴅ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀᴄᴋɪɴɢ, which feels like the kind of nuance that naturally sparks layered and honest conversation in our group."
Hello Miriam Posner,

I hope you’re doing well.

My name is Aileen, and I’m the founder and organizer of Boozy Bronx Book Club, a 1,400+ member in-person reading community in New York City centered around thoughtful, high-engagement discussions.

I recently came across Seeing Like a Supply Chain, and was especially drawn to its exploration of technological systems of distribution. What stood out most was structural back-end shipping tracking, which feels like the kind of nuance that naturally sparks layered and honest conversation in our group.
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Rob Baron @rob-baron.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It seems a very apposite time to ask Richard Tice to explain why he needs to head a company with no employees and no products, that appears to do nothing other than receive large amounts of money which it then swiftly transfers to the accounts of Reform Ltd.
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Tuta @tuta.com · 31/08/2026
If you have a Gmail account, you need to read this. Google's AI now scans your emails and attachments, bank statements, tax files, medical letters, all of it. It turned on by default, and there's a class-action lawsuit over how. Here are 5 moves to shut it off, the switch is hidden in two places:
Image of Sundar Pichai and the Gmail logo
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Simon Nixon @nixonsimon.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Amazing. It seems that plagiarism is only a problem for The Times when black people do it
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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Daily Mail headline story about how a town has become a ‘no go zone’ for women due to threats from immigrants The only evidence given for this is from Mike, aged 66 The only violence documented in the article is from far-right agitators
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Alistair King @alistairking.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Struggling to work out why Jenrick would single out these three Commonwealth countries rather than, say, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, whose citizens have exactly the same rights. It’s a head-scratcher.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This is what happened in the siege of Sarajevo, which was said at the time to bring shame upon the entire continent.
5,434 civilians killed or missing, including 1,601 children
56,000 injured, including 15,000 children
55,000 - 145,980 expelled from the citylt!
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Mark Jones @markjonesmotion.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Fun fact: Dolly Parton spent decades quietly funding band uniforms and instruments at Black high schools across the South - never once putting her name on it. No headlines, no fanfare — just help, given because it was needed. Wonderful Heart ♥️ RIP Dolly ❤️
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
World affairs editor of @the-independent.com rightfully demands sanctions against Israel over the killing of his journalist colleague. Meanwhile, Reuters and the Associated Press mark Israel's same massacre against their journalists a year ago with hollow expressions of grief.
independent.co.uk
Israel must face sanctions over the killing of journalists like Mariam Abu Dagga
Now is the time to impose real and immediate economic costs on Israel for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley
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Ruth Michaelson @ruthmichaelson.com · 25/08/2026
Sharing this after returning from Magdeburg in east Germany, and going to report at an AfD rally in the nearby countryside. People outside of Germany do not understand how urgent this situation is right now. The AfD have a nationwide polling lead + are tipped to win control of two states next month.
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Andy Brown @andybrown1951.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Why does BBC radio 4 continue to give air time to every policy announcement from Reform UK and little or none to Lib Dems or Greens? Political incorrectness gone mad? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Reform says it will prioritise British-born young workers for social housing
Labour called the plan "unserious and unworkable" and accused Reform of pushing "gimmicks and division".
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Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
A really miserable piece of writing, wholly based in electoral impressionism. No thought for principles or the rights of migrants, and including spurious calculations about lifetime fiscal costs and benefits that simply ignore the real costs of what would happen if these workers were absent.
ft.com
Burnham must reveal his hand on immigration
Labour MPs dislike tough proposals to limit rights to settle and collect welfare but voters’ trust has run out
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Kenan Malik @kenanmalik.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Transportation, 21st century style. And not just transported, but transported to a foreign prison from which they may never be released. Extraordinary how quickly this has become normalised. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/m...
nytimes.com
He Was Deported to a Country He’d Never Heard Of. He May Never Go Free.
As the Trump administration sends a growing number of immigrants to countries they have no connection to, some find themselves imprisoned with no way out.
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Jon Featonby @jonfeatonby.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
If the PM is going to achieve this, then he needs to have some serious words with the Home Office. Kicking refugees out of Home Office accommodation with only a few weeks' notice and no support leaves thousands facing homelessness after a positive asylum decision www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
I won’t abandon anyone to sleep rough on our streets. That’s my £442m promise | Andy Burnham
Today we begin our drive to get everyone in for Christmas. And it will be for local communities up and down the land to decide how best to do it, says prime minister Andy Burnham
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The Guardian has serious questions to answer and yet it's still trying to defend itself
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Absolutely pathetic editorial from the Guardian showing no awareness of their role in the making of a modern day witch hunt. The public interest argument just does not stand up & blaming the right wing media does not cut it. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on Jason Arday: a tragedy that demands reflection | Editorial
Editorial: Legitimate scrutiny became entangled with a racial argument about merit and diversity. His death raises questions about how society treats black success and failure
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 17/08/2026
Investigate reporting being expensive, lengthy, uncertain and often litigious is a real market failure. So is the insane lucrativity of writing the same anti-woke slop opinion ragebait/red meat once a week.
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Martin Concagh @mconcagh.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
The trouble is that most important and necessary journalism is still quite difficult and expensive, and can’t be done via google searches.
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Ailbhe Rea @pronouncedalva.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"One news bulletin described him as “the Black professor accused of plagiarism”: as if the most important thing was not the plagiarism, but the temerity to be simultaneously Black." Brilliant as ever from my old boss @stephenkb.bsky.social on Jason Arday giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
The difficult truth about Jason Arday
From the beginning, investigations were accompanied by a cloud of excessive references to his race
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Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The British Media Vs. Plagiarism
4 panel comic

Panel 1: 
British Journalists are relaxing on lilos in the sea. Someone on the shore yells “Hey Guys! An academic got accused of plagiarism”

Panel 2: 
One of the journalists sticks out their tongue and says “Pffft. Wake me when there’s a real story”

Panel 3: 
Person on shore “He was black”

Panel 4: 
The sea explodes as a tidal wave of British Journalists erupt into the air, manic and desperate to report on this now vital for some reason piece of news
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Increasingly common trend: when controversialist columnists run out of real minority groups to victimise they just make one up.
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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Deaths of newborns have risen by 81% in just a year, for the most vulnerable people across sub-Saharan Africa, in the wake of global aid cuts Deaths of babies in the first year of life are up 111% in a year. Deaths of under-5s have risen 50% in a year www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...
independent.co.uk
Newborn deaths are surging in the world’s most vulnerable communities. Here’s why
Mothers across sub-Saharan Africa face a perfect storm of conflict, displacement and global aid cuts that are leaving them without the help they need in the most dangerous countries to give birth. Liz...
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
The continued political silence over the spread of these anti-migrant, anti-refugee pogroms in the UK is a disgrace. This one has been going on for three nights in a row now and the Home Secretary and Prime Minister haven't said a single word about it www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Norfolk police arrest two men after officers injured during unrest over asylum plans
Homes of people believed to be asylum seekers attacked during two nights of violence in Thetford
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
And yet reports are still commissioned on way people think the media is out of touch when editors peddle culture war guff like this about elite job drama over real reporting
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I would say it is not important news
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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
*Government: we need a sense of place and stronger regional policy to bring us together! *Also government: it's okay to shut this local uni campus in an area of high deprivation! *Thick-as-mince country. No joined-up thinking anywhere. 🇬🇧 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
University of Essex's Southend campus shuts and staff say goodbye
The university says the closure is due to financial pressures, leading to 400 staff redundancies.
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
"There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible." Emily Wilson's take on the Odyssey is very C4 Four in a Bed
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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Mamdani criticizes Netanyahu. Later, a crazy man stabs a Jewish man and an Asian man. And we get an article suggesting that while one stabbing (dismissed in six words) is just a shrug, the other implicates the mayor. Disgraceful framing. Shame on everyone involved. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/n...
nytimes.com
After Stabbings, a Rise in Jewish Fears and Questions for Mamdani (Gift Article)
Some politicians said Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of Israel had created a dangerous environment. He pushed back, condemning the stabbings of two men on the Upper West Side and defending his state...
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
The frequency of attacks on mosques - over one a week - is somewhat under the media radar. New funding to protect faith/community spaces, but some process barriers re demostrating the threat/risk. A sustained strategy on the causes of hostiliy & hate is essential www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
One UK mosque attacked ‘every five days’, says British Muslim Trust
More than 70 attacks have been recorded over past year, including acts of violence, property damage and vandalism
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
A Chilean salmon farm now draws about 57% of its power from panels laid over the water, cutting roughly 136,000 litres of diesel a year and silencing the generators. With the noise gone, thousands of salmon have gathered in the shade beneath the arrays. Ecoportal buff.ly/CwczkbP #ShareGoodNewsToo
buff.ly
An island in Chile covered its waters with floating solar panels. Soon, thousands of salmon had turned them into their home
An island in Chile covered its waters with floating solar panels. Soon, thousands of salmon had turned them into their home and were all thriving.
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Cathy Otten @cathyotten.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
A beautifully-told, heartfelt story about growing up surrounded by the mafia, by our photo editor Erika Di Benedetto www.occrp.org/en/feature/w...
occrp.org
What It Means To Be Sicilian
When a mafia boss died, OCCRP's photo editor Erika Di Benedetto received a surprising call that revived childhood memories and helped her understand how the past weighs on the present for her father.
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D.R. Ranshaw @drranshaw.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
And there will STILL be a fricking typo or six in it.
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Ghost_of_Gandalf 🇺🇸 @quirkyhndl.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
As Dems are finally beginning to vote against Israel, I’m reminded of a certain book…
Screenshot of Omar El Akkad’s book about Gaza, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.”
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
The shamelessness of a political party which is led by a man who just weeks ago called for "pure cold rage" on the streets, shortly before migrants were literally burnt out of their homes, now accusing their opponents of "stochastic terrorism" against them, is quite something
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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
It is mad that we have, somehow, allowed net zero - a policy common to all major parties under 5 years ago and supported by a majority of the public - to become a synoym for mad radicalism. It is doubly mad that we've allowed this to happen during the hottest summer on record.
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