Reposted by James FitzgeraldJohn Doyle @johndoyle.bsky.social · 16/08/2026 This is a very timely article from @dublincityuni.bsky.social colleague @jamesfitz2.bsky.social along with colleagues form @University of Rio de Janeiro - silencing critics in academia has a long tradition. doi.org/10.1080/0094...doi.orgOf Politics and Playbooks: Silencing Disinformation Research(ers) in Times of AutocracyThe enforced demise of Clyde Miller’s Institute for Propaganda Analysis—shuttered in 1942 amid accusations of communist sympathy and insufficient loyalty to the American ideal—resonates with coordi... 164
Reposted by James FitzgeraldScience as Culture @sciasculture.bsky.social · 16/07/2026⚖️ They argue that the Brazilian Supreme Court's robust judicial and regulatory responses demonstrate that even the most powerful platforms can be constrained, offering an imperfect blueprint for effectively curbing the excesses of the tech oligarchy. 021
Reposted by James FitzgeraldScience as Culture @sciasculture.bsky.social · 16/07/2026👉 In this piece, the authors analyse the confrontation set by tech oligarchy, 'embodied' in Elon Musk and his platform X, against Brazil's Supreme Court and its rejection of Musk’s refusal to comply with judicial content moderation orders. 121
Reposted by James FitzgeraldScience as Culture @sciasculture.bsky.social · 16/07/2026📢 Another interesting addition to the Forum on Tech Oligarchy! 📜 The article "Brazil’s supreme court on content moderation: national sovereignty versus tech oligarchy," by @jamesfitz2.bsky.social, Carlos Eduardo Barros, Debora S., and Rose Marie Santini is now available! 🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0950...doi.orgBrazil’s supreme court on content moderation: national sovereignty versus tech oligarchyPublished in Science as Culture (Ahead of Print, 2026) 142
Reposted by James Fitzgeralddeeplab @deeplab.bsky.social · 18/02/2026Join us on 26 Feb for our next Deep Thoughts Seminar with Dr James Fitzgerald (DCU): Silencing Disinformation Research(ers) in Times of Autocracy. Hybrid | 3pm GMT | Wine reception to follow Register: deeplab@ucd.ie (in person or Zoom) @jamesfitz2.bsky.social 031
Reposted by James FitzgeraldKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 24/12/2025Nina Jankowicz: “They’re not doing this because they have any evidence of censorship — they lost a Supreme Court case that made those claims… They’re doing this because the group of researchers and advocates have stood up to liars like Donald Trump and the platforms that enable them.” 111143460
Reposted by James FitzgeraldDublin City University @dublincityuni.bsky.social · 25/06/2025Brazilian lawmakers are debating a bill that would expand the definition of terrorism to include the activities of organised crime. Piece by Dr James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social, Associate Professor of Security Studies at DCU, for @uk.theconversation.com. Read here: launch.dcu.ie/3GbJdIu 021
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 24/06/2025My third of three pieces on the potential (re-)classification of organised crime as terrorism in Brazil. Published today in @theconversation.com @ufrjoficial.bsky.social theconversation.com/brazils-dang...theconversation.comBrazil’s dangerous flirtation with counterterrorismBrazilian lawmakers are debating a bill that would expand the definition of terrorism to include the activities of organised crime. 052
Reposted by James FitzgeraldDavid Faris @davidfaris.bsky.social · 22/06/2025Netanyahu has spent the better part of two decades trying to strong arm the United States into an unprovoked war against Iran and finally found a president stupid enough to do it for him. Unbelievable. 579365499389
Reposted by James FitzgeraldStone Cold Jane Austen @abbyhiggs.bsky.social · 22/06/2025It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this 8096337014277
Reposted by James FitzgeraldG Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 15/06/2025Based on crowd-sourced records of No Kings Day event turnout, and extrapolating for the cities where we don't have data yet, it looks like roughly 4-6 million people protested Trump across the U.S. yesterday. That's nearly 2% of the U.S. pop! Mobilized anti-Trump resistance is exceeding 2017 levelsgelliottmorris.com"No Kings Day" protests turn out millionsOur unofficial estimate is that around 4 million people attended a protest event yesterday. Anti-Trump resistance is outpacing 2017. 264105343076
Reposted by James FitzgeraldAsawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 15/06/2025it is Illegal to not enjoy this. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...rollingstone.comTrump's Military Birthday Parade Was a Gross FailureTrump got the expensive military parade he wanted on his birthday, courtesy of Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and American taxpayers. 15155421101
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 14/06/2025I’m published today in @folha.com, Brazil’s paper of record. I argue against the motion that organised crime in Brazil be re-classified as ‘terrorism’. In the other ‘corner’, Cláudio Castro, the Governor of Rio de Janeiro, argues for the motion. 061
Reposted by James FitzgeraldGreg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 11/06/2025This @willsommer.bsky.social piece, on MAGA influencers embedding with law enforcement to capture cruel images of migrants for their social media followings, really captures what I'm talking about in my piece below on MAGA's deep structural problem here. www.thebulwark.com/p/the-viciou... 017654
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 04/06/2025My piece “Brazil’s Precarious Counterterrorism Project” is published today, in Português, in Outras Palavras (Other Words), as part of ongoing collaboration with NetLab, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. outraspalavras.net/direita-assa...outraspalavras.netBrasil: O perigoso projeto “contraterrorista” | Outras PalavrasCongresso debate proposta que equipara ação de grupos como o PCC a “terror”. É demagógica e ameaçadora. Ao dotar o Estado de carta-branca para perseguir e punir, ameaça a democracia, sob pretexto de e... 020
Reposted by James FitzgeraldMia Farrow @miafarrow.bsky.social · 27/04/202575% of American researchers & scientists are considering leaving the US www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.com75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leavingMore than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada. 1822456959
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 23/04/2025Looking forward to presenting at this “International Workshop on Technology Justice For/From the Global South” tomorrow, at PUC-Minas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Will speak about genealogies of (critical) terrorism studies and how it intersects with current perspectives in disinformation studies. 000
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 16/04/2025Latest article with NetLab, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, w/Rose Marie Santini and Débora Salles. The Extraction Ideology: Pro-agribusiness propaganda in times of climate emergency. @dublincityuni.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....tandfonline.comThe extraction ideology: Brazilian pro-agribusiness propaganda in times of climate emergencyAlmost a century since the birth of modern Propaganda Studies, familiar dynamics continue to drive the literature. With a majority of scholarship emanating from the Global North, localized and cult... 020
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 26/03/2025Ordem e progresso 🇧🇷 www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/w...nytimes.comJair Bolsonaro Ordered to Face Trial in Brazil for Attempting a CoupBrazil’s top court ruled that the former president will be tried over his role in a vast plot to cling to power after his 2022 election loss. 000
Reposted by James FitzgeraldJoanna Peña-Bickley @joannapenabickley.bsky.social · 17/02/2025While Grok holds only a small market share compared to ChatGPT’s 62.5% dominance, access to vast government databases could provide a crucial competitive advantage. 1266
Reposted by James FitzgeraldJoanna Peña-Bickley @joannapenabickley.bsky.social · 17/02/2025Remember our conversation in 2016? Data has become the oil of the 21st century, and Elon Musk’s pursuit of IRS taxpayer data represents a modern version of industrial monopoly building 46629
Reposted by James FitzgeraldRichard Corsi @corsiaq.bsky.social · 17/02/2025Old friend just laid off by USDA, 1 mos short of his probationary period as senior researcher. Brilliant person who left a tenured faculty position several yrs ago to join USDA. Bright early-career researchers also being laid off. USDA is terminating a generation of highly-qualified scientists. 784207935568
Reposted by James Fitzgerald@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 17/02/2025This is one gigantic five alarm fire. 512945
Reposted by James Fitzgerald🐶 @AL- I’m here! @phoenix-al.bsky.social · 16/02/2025Mind boggling when you see the entire confirmed list of agencies with mass firing of probationary employees, : 591100579
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 14/02/2025What’s not a “journey” these days. Iconic mandatory cyber security journey vibes. 000
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 12/02/2025The best piece on Musk & DOGE that I’ve yet read. Finally, someone zones in on the video game vernacular that shapes so much of his (pathetic) behaviour and the juvenile frames by which his acts of destruction are carried out. There is no reset button. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/o...nytimes.comOpinion | Look Past Elon Musk’s Chaos. There’s Something More Sinister at Work.Everything is content. 010
Reposted by James FitzgeraldKarl Bode @karlbode.com · 11/02/2025not a new observation but Elon Musk genuinely isn't very bright, genuinely has no idea how most things work, and his entire supergenius engineer persona is a tech press-enabled mythology (they've never been held accountable for) 421119372369
Reposted by James FitzgeraldStephan Lewandowsky @lewan.uk · 06/02/2025My latest column just appeared in Science, entitled "Free speech, fact-checking, and the right to accurate information”. (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) I use one of President Trump’s first executive orders to unpack the terrain between misinformation and claims to free speech 1/nscience.orgFree speech, fact checking, and the right to accurate informationTrue to his campaign promises, on 20 January 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a broad range of Executive Orders, the scope of which ranged from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” t... 4231114
Reposted by James FitzgeraldRenee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 05/02/2025"Do online conspiracy theories have any impact? Do disinformation campaigns work?" 361098204
Reposted by James FitzgeraldKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 08/02/2025Scientists and journalists need to figure out right quick how to explain to the average person how a massive change in research indirects will impact the medical care they and their children get (eg at the local children’s hospital), the education their children will get, the price of tuition, etc. 9738101153
Reposted by James FitzgeraldVictor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 10/01/2025I read this Thiel article and…these incoherent conspiratorial ramblings would not pass muster in an undergraduate classroom. 1520131
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 10/01/2025techpolicy.press/tech-bro-pow...techpolicy.pressTech Bro Power Play: Zuckerberg vs. Global Tech Justice | TechPolicy.PressTuesday's announcement signaled a new alliance between Silicon Valley and Washington against regulation and tech justice, write Tom Divon and Jonathan Corpus Ong. 000
Reposted by James FitzgeraldKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 10/01/2025Poynter calls bullshit on Zuckerberg’s “censorship” claims, explaining that fact-checking is speech, not censorship. 8320105
Reposted by James FitzgeraldTess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 06/01/2025Thrilled to announce today @briannarosen.bsky.social as inaugural director of @justsecurity.org's new Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Initiative! We look forward to partnering with @blavatnikschool.bsky.social (@ox.ac.uk). Stay tuned: www.justsecurity.org/106105/annou...justsecurity.orgAnnouncing Just Security’s Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies InitiativeIntroducing Just Security's new initiative on the challenges and opportunities presented by transformative technologies. 082
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 09/01/2025Roose nails this. Knows his stuff and delivers a well-written, piercing critique of the politics of Zuckerberg and Meta. Pretty essential reading, IMO. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/08/t...nytimes.comWhat’s Behind Meta’s Makeover Ahead of Trump’s Second Term? (Gift Article)Mark Zuckerberg is positioning his company for a second Trump term — and revealing the hollow identity at its core. 010
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 06/01/2025What could go wrong? on.ft.com/3W6RphOon.ft.comPrivate equity to lobby Trump for access to savers’ retirement fundsIndustry hopes incoming administration will open long-restricted private investments to individual investors 186
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 04/01/2025I cannot understand why Bluesky (still) does not have a bookmark option. 010
Reposted by James FitzgeraldJosh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 04/01/2025Outraged by Jan 6, he spent two years getting inside the top ranks of militias like the Oath Keepers. He was stunningly successful. He penetrated a new generation of militia leaders, which included doctors, cops & government attorneys. This is his story. www.propublica.org/article/ap3-...propublica.orgA Mole Infiltrated the Highest Ranks of American Militias. This Is What He Found.Outraged by the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover climbing the ranks of right-wing militias. He didn’t tell police or the FBI. He didn’t tell family or friends.... 256107494162
Reposted by James FitzgeraldCarole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 04/01/2025WaPo cartoonist resigns after Post rejects her cartoon of billionaires paying tribute to Donald Trump, one of whom happens to be her boss, Jeff Bezos. Satire has literally died. anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-qui...anntelnaes.substack.comWhy I'm quitting the Washington PostDemocracy can't function without a free press 4928791037
Reposted by James FitzgeraldChris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 03/01/2025I wrote an essay about our bottomless thirst for diversion and how avoiding boredom is the engine of modern life. It’s based on the research I did for my book. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/o...nytimes.comOpinion | Chris Hayes: I Want Your Attention. I Need Your Attention. Here is How I Mastered My Own.The problem we face is existential and spiritual, not situational. 1832869427
Reposted by James FitzgeraldJ.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 02/01/2025Oh boy www.denver7.com/news/local-n...denver7.comSuspects in Vegas explosion, New Orleans attack served at same Army base, sources tell Denver7 InvestigatesDenver7 Investigates has learned that the suspects in the Las Vegas Tesla explosion and the New Orleans truck rampage on New Year's Day both served at the same military base. 07235
Reposted by James FitzgeraldCynthia Miller-Idriss @milleridriss.bsky.social · 02/01/2025There is a lot still to be analyzed about the New Orleans attack, but for MSNBC today, I argue that it is one more piece of evidence showing how we are failing in our approach to preventing mass violence 1/ www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...msnbc.comOpinion | The New Orleans truck attack is an urgent national warningThe U.S. strategy for preventing mass violence and violent extremism is failing. 513835
Reposted by James FitzgeraldLuke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 31/12/2024Elon Musk apparently renamed himself “Kekius Maximus” and changed his profile pic to Pepe the Frog last night These are all symbols associated with the so-called “alt-right” / online far-right, white nationalists, etc www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/20... 113759267
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 31/12/2024Wellness did. Who killed the rave? Late-night dancing falls into global decline on.ft.com/3DMiLmZon.ft.comWho killed the rave? Late-night dancing falls into global declineFrom Berlin to New York, clubbers in the world’s party capitals are heading home earlier 020
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 31/12/2024There’s something tragically full circle about this. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024...theguardian.comManchester Arena attack survivor calls for protection from conspiracy theoristsMartin Hibbert says his family were terrified after YouTuber who claimed they were ‘crisis actors’ covertly filmed them 110
Reposted by James FitzgeraldGëzim Visoka @gezimvisoka.bsky.social · 13/12/2024Looking forward to a productive discussion today at #EUI discussing peace and counter-infrastructures. Thanks @jdzankic.bsky.social for the invitation and for co-organising it! www.eui.eu/events?id=57...eui.euWar and infrastructureJoin this workshop to discuss how infrastructure influences conflict, security, and peacebuilding dynamics. 0102
Reposted by James FitzgeraldRyan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 10/12/2024And now X has verified Mangione’s account 3044371
James Fitzgerald @jamesfitz2.bsky.social · 07/12/2024Day 2 at the UN 🇺🇳: Presented expert-level briefing on extremism in gaming spaces. My take: Value of these spaces where people can ‘hang out’ & socialise shouldn’t be discounted and may defuse extremist ideation. We must learn from past mistakes of CT re. misplaced intervention and suspicion. 131