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Patrick Gildersleve

@gildersleve.uk
473 followers 676 following 45 posts

Lecturer (Asst Prof) in Communications and AI at the University of Exeter Prev. LSE Methodology, PhD Oxford Internet Institute Wikipedia, News, Attention he/him 🔗🌳 linktr.ee/gildersleve 🌐 gildersleve.uk

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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Ben Phillips @benphillips1989.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
A statement from Exeter UCU branch @ucu.org.uk - please share far and wide.
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 22/01/2026
We had a blast hosting Sarah @craicexeter.bsky.social . We should be having more of these much needed discussions as scholars - Sarah’s talk featured a great mix of critical edge and openness to dialogue
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 15/01/2026
Happy 25th birthday to Wikipedia! 🥳 A fitting moment to share 1. Their great site to mark the occasion: wikipedia25.org 2. A paper in Big Data & Society, published over the winter break, where we develop Wikipedia as a “Refractive Dataset”, led by @beeeeeers.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1177/2053...
A paper screenshot:
Refractive datasets as a sensemaking methodology in closed data ecosystems

Anna Beers, Viviane Ito, Agustin Orozco, Patrick Gildersleve, Pablo Aragón, and Francesca Tripodi

Abstract
As digital platforms restrict their APIs, researchers face diminishing options for studying social phenomena in digital environments. During what has been called the post-API era, researchers have found themselves looking for reliable data sources in an unreliable and frequently changing platform data ecosystem. In this context, we propose analyzing refractive datasets as a methodology for researchers to understand the dynamics of closed data platforms. Refractive datasets come from platforms with relatively more open data policies, and their analysis sheds light on platforms with more restrictive data policies. Like a prism, refractive datasets reflect but also transform data-based phenomena unfolding on closed platforms. Using refractive datasets from Wikipedia and Google Trends, we present three studies to demonstrate our methodology. We first show how refractive data from Wikipedia's multiple language editions can be used to understand a fractured global platform ecosystem in a case study of hydroxychloroquine, a purported COVID-19 medicine. Second, we use Google Trends to show how similar refractive analyses can be used to understand information lost to platform deletion, in a profile of an online panic over the drug brand Galaxy Gas. Finally, we show how Wikipedia data can be used as a grounding point for a refractive analysis of how new generative algorithms reproduce and distort data across the social web. We discuss how refractive datasets can be a way for researchers to “sensemake” in increasingly opaque big data environments, enabling interpretivist analyses which aim to generate new hypotheses rather than verify existing claims.
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 09/12/2025
I’m chuffed to share that I’ve been awarded this grant with @ftripodi.bsky.social and Brett Zehner 🥳 We’ll be studying how AI systems may reproduce or reinforce biases in Wikipedia, whether by extracting knowledge from the platform or by contributing content back to it. Excited to get started!
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
LSE Impact @lseimpactblog.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
👀ICYMI: "It matters less that Grokipedia succeeds than whether it helps to delegitimise Wikipedia." @gildersleve.uk #Grok #Wikipedia #Knowledge
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Grokipedia falls flat, but AI is already rewriting Wikipedia’s future - Impact of Social Sciences
Launched as a competitor to Wikipedia, Grokipedia is one of the first LLM based encyclopaedias, but how does it compare to the last best place on the internet?
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
LSE Blogs @lseblogs.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Launched as a competitor to Wikipedia, Elon Musk's #Grokipedia is one of the first LLM-based attempts to create an encyclopaedia. @gildersleve.uk finds it compares poorly to Wikipedia, but the latter faces challenges as AI tools cannibalise its content and audiences. @lseimpactblog.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Grokipedia falls flat, but AI is already rewriting Wikipedia’s future - Impact of Social Sciences
Launched as a competitor to Wikipedia, Grokipedia is one of the first LLM based encyclopaedias, but how does it compare to the last best place on the internet?
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 17/11/2025
I enjoyed writing this piece for the LSE Impact Blog on Musk's latest swing at Wikipedia, and its future in a hostile AI-skewed political landscape 👇
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 10/10/2025
It was a great experience organising this workshop with colleagues - looking forward to more good CrAIC!
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 25/09/2025
Super excited for the launch workshop for our research centre. Sign up below for the public roundtable!
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 04/09/2025
A really great read overall on how Wikipedia has survived the Internet, and the challenges it still faces. Going straight on my students' reading lists!
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 03/09/2025
A depressing juxtaposition of news stories, there is such a disconnect in the national conversation. A public figure directly calling for violence against trans people is met with police sympathy and instead we get phone ban campaigns to tackle online harms 🙃.
A screenshot of the BBC news app showing two stories. The first “Met chief calls for law change after Graham Linehan arrest”, with a photo of Graham Linehan. The second “Watch: Mother of Brianna Ghey calls for smartphone ban in schools”, with an image showing Brianna and Esther Ghey.
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 11/08/2025
Troubling news as Wikimedia's claim against the OSA is dismissed. This opens the door for onerous new requirements such as ID verification and stricter content moderation. These measures run antithetical to Wikipedia's practical operation and core principles as the encyclopaedia anyone can edit.
reuters.com
Wikipedia operator loses court challenge to UK Online Safety Act regulations
The operator of Wikipedia on Monday lost a legal challenge to parts of Britain's Online Safety Act, which sets tough new requirements for online platforms and has been criticised for potentially curtailing free speech.
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 22/07/2025
For even more WikiResearch at #IC2S2, I'm presenting our work on WikiReddit on Wednesday 14:30 in 'Social Media II' 🧑‍💻 I'll explain how these complementary platforms are powered by the magic of ✨𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲✨, and how our dataset can be used to study cross-platform flows of information and attention 🔀
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 22/07/2025
Great session on Wikipedia at #IC2S2 with some very cool research. Strong themes of multilingual analysis and coordination dynamics @smfsamir.bsky.social @feloe.bsky.social
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Steve Jankowski @textaural.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
I am pleased to announce the launch of the Manifesto for Wikimedia Research manifesto.wiki. As my co-authored Big Data & Society commentary explains, the manifesto is dedicated to a humanist and critical tradition of taking Wikipedia's importance seriously. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
manifesto.wiki
A manifesto for Wikimedia research: Critically studying Wikimedia as infrastructure
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 26/06/2025
Had a great time meeting everyone and seeing all the interesting work @icwsm.bsky.social. I presented our study on the Wikireddit dataset - exploring Wikipedia’s role in fact-checking, discussion, and cross-platform attention on the web. Thank you to the organisers! 📄: ojs.aaai.org/index.php/IC...
Presenter (Patrick Gildersleve) in front of a screen summarising the WikiReddit Dataset project. The slide describes it as "Every Wikipedia mention and link on Reddit, 2020-2023", includes some example usage, describes the scale of the dataset, and offers suggested use cases.
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 24/06/2025
Important starter pack research in action! I received lots of follow notifications during this talk - hopefully this work prompts more ICWSM activity here!
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 24/06/2025
Very cool work at #ICWSM tracking information manipulation in response to national regulation on the Russian Wikipedia fork From Mykola Trokhymovych, @elaragon.bsky.social, @e-migrante.bsky.social & others
Presenter in front of screen at ICWSM.

Slide content:

Summary

First study of how original Wikipedia content has been forked and manipulated to meet the requirements of a national regulation.
• RWFork edits target top visited and controversial pages
• Editors follow office-hour activity patterns
• Changes are systematic, mostly focused on the Russo-Ukrainian War

RWFork dataset is available for further study:
https://zenodo.org/records/15073728
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Leo Balduf @leobalduf.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
I'll be at #ICWSM 2025 next week to present our paper about Bluesky Starter Packs. For the occasion, I've created a Starter Pack with all the organizers, speakers, and authors of this year I could find on Bluesky! Link: go.bsky.app/GDkQ3y7 Let me know if I missed anyone!
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
LSE Methodology @lsemethodology.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
You can still sign up for our My580 Methods Short Course 👉 Modern Text Analysis and NLP with Python, by @gildersleve.uk 📆 Tuesday 27 May, from 10am - 3pm 🖱️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/modern-tex...
eventbrite.co.uk
Modern Text Analysis and NLP with Python
Training for PhD and MSc students in the design of social research, quantitative and qualitative analysis.
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
LSE Methodology @lsemethodology.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Next up on our My580 Methods Short Courses 👉 Modern Text Analysis and NLP with Python, by @gildersleve.uk 📆 Tuesday 27 May, from 10am - 3pm 🖱️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/modern-tex...
eventbrite.co.uk
Modern Text Analysis and NLP with Python
Training for PhD and MSc students in the design of social research, quantitative and qualitative analysis.
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Wikimedia Foundation @wikimediafoundation.org · 08/05/2025
We are challenging the lawfulness of the UK’s Online Safety Act Categorisation Regulations, which determine our obligations under UK laws. These rules create unacceptable risks for Wikipedia’s volunteer users, such as disempowering those who wish to keep their identity private. Read ➡️ w.wiki/E3XD
The Royal Courts of Justice main gate. Text says "Wikimedia Foundation brings legal challenge to new UK Online Safety Act requirements".
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Milena Tsvetkova @mtsvetkova.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
I have two postdoc positions for a computer scientist and a social scientist to work on my ERC-funded project HUMANET Human-Machine Social Systems at LSE. Please read more and apply at jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/.... More information about the project is available at humanet.science.
jobs.lse.ac.uk
Research Officer in Computational Social Science (2 Posts)
Research Officer in Computational Social Science (2 Posts), , <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span>LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university</span></em></p> ...
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
LSE Methodology @lsemethodology.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
📣Call for papers! 1️⃣ week left to send your 250-word abstract for @audreyalejandro.bsky.social and ‪@dandekadt.bsky.social‬'s two-day workshop on "Computational Social Science meets Qualitative Research" Learn more➡️ www.lse.ac.uk/Methodology/... @lsedatascience.bsky.social
AI generated photograph featuring a group of people sat around a table and code overlayed
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 10/02/2025
📄 Excited to share a new dataset preprint! WikiReddit: Tracing Information and Attention Flows Between Online Platforms A collaboration with @beeeeeers.bsky.social, Viviane Ito, Agustin Orozco, and @ftripodi.bsky.social at @citap.bsky.social .
A screenshot of the start of the paper "WikiReddit: Tracing Information and Attention Flows Between Online Platforms"
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
LSE Methodology @lsemethodology.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
📣Call for papers! Dr Daniel de Kadt and @audreyalejandro.bsky.social are hosting a two-day workshop on "Computational Social Science meets Qualitative Research" Learn more➡️ www.lse.ac.uk/Methodology/... @lsedatascience.bsky.social
AI generated photograph featuring a group of people sat around a table and code overlayed
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Stephen Harrison @stephenharrison.com · 05/02/2025
I wrote for Slate about how a conservative think tank plans to "identify and target" Wikipedia editors who it claims are abusing their position—a dangerous escalation that shifts the fight from debating edits to going after the editors themselves. slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com
A Powerful Conservative Think Tank Is Targeting One of the Last Good Things on the Internet
The Heritage Foundation plans to “identify and target” Wikipedia editors it accuses of antisemitism.
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 14/08/2024
🚨New preprint! 📰The News Comment Gap and Algorithmic Agenda Setting in Online Forums w/ Flora Böwing We study: 1) The differences in comment preferences between journalists and readers 2) How comment ranking algorithms prioritise different kinds of comments to display to users 🧵
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 18/07/2024
Excited to be at #IC2S2 2024! I’ll be presenting “The News Comment Gap and Algorithmic Agenda Setting in Online Forums” in session 3C, Friday 11am. Say hi if you want to connect👋
Interior of the (empty) Irvine auditorium at UPenn. “IC2S2” is displayed on a large projector screen
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Eleanor Power @eapower.bsky.social · 11/06/2024
Milena Tsvetkova, @gildersleve.uk and I are teaching an LSE summer school course on social #network analysis in July/August! Send interested students our way! www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse...
lse.ac.uk
Short course: Social Network Analysis
This course covers the fundamentals of network structures, network data structures, and the analysis and presentation of network data.
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 06/06/2024
Delighted to share that I will be starting as Lecturer (≈ TT Asst Prof) in Communications and Artificial Intelligence at @uniofexeter.bsky.social this September. Looking forward to this new chapter! 🥳 x.com/ExeterComms/...
x.com
x.com
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Reposted by Patrick Gildersleve
Josh Cowls @joshcowls.bsky.social · 24/04/2024
New from me: the ultimatum game facing TikTok on both sides of the Atlantic
plusminus.substack.com
TikTok faces the music on both sides of the Atlantic, but the US and EU are playing different tunes
The US and EU have taken wildly different approaches to platform regulation, and TikTok is feeling the effects of both this week
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 20/12/2023
Super proud of my MSc supervisees who graduated from LSE last week. All achieved distinctions in their dissertations and degrees, including the top MSc project award! 🎉
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Patrick Gildersleve @gildersleve.uk · 31/10/2023
I've penned a blog post on my shiny new website: "Elon Musk is right about Wikipedia". Elon has taken to Twitter to criticise the last best place on the Internet. Does the man destroying his own social network have a point? gildersleve.uk/Elon-Musk-is...
gildersleve.uk
Elon Musk is right about Wikipedia
Elon has taken to Twitter to criticise the last best place on the Internet. Does the man destroying his own social network have a point?
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