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Michael S. Daubs, PhD

@mdaubs.bsky.social
221 followers 501 following 33 posts

Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Communication at the University of Otago. Co-Director for Kōtaha: the Internet, Social Media and Politics Research Lab at Te Herega Waka - Victoria University of Wellington | 🇨🇦 in 🇳🇿 (he/him) | @mdaubs@aoir.social

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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Shortsighted, if not idiotic. The National Library and Archives are key institutions. AI is not capable of understanding history or culture. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
Almost 50 jobs could go at National Library and Archives, PSA warns
A proposal to cut 12 percent of the workforce at the National Library and Archives NZ will decimate both organisations and have a significant impact on service levels, says the Public Service Associat...
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Just a friendly reminder to my Aotearoa New Zealand-based friends to doublecheck or update your voting enrolment: vote.nz/enrolling/en... #nzpol
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Wherein I give meandering reckons on the media spectacle that was the FIFA World Cup 2026: acmesmokescreen.substack.com/p/acme-accum...
Screenshot of ACMe (Aotearoa Communication and Media Scholars) Substack, reading "ACMe Accumulation, July 2026: An idiosyncratic round up of media & comms news and event for July 2026 by Michael Daubs." Text is accomanied by an image of Norwegian football fans performing a team celebration called a "Viking row".
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
My friend and colleague Claire Henry and I make the case for exploring an online safety regulator in New Zealand rather than just focusing on potentially harmful and ineffective age-based social media bans in a new article in The Conversation. theconversation.com/the-jurys-ou...
theconversation.com
The jury’s out on social media bans. Here’s a better idea NZ can borrow from Australia
A version of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner could be a better way to tackle the online harm experienced by under-16s – and New Zealanders of all ages.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
For no particular reason, I feel the need to reiterate that the term "broadcasting" originally came from farming, i.e., the spreading of seeds, and so never 'only' meant television and radio.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Had the pleasure of working with @andrewlensen.bsky.social, @andrewtychen.bsky.social, @ethanplaut.bsky.social and @srhastraea.bsky.social on this piece about New Zealand's chance to lead on Responsible AI. theconversation.com/could-nzs-ne...
theconversation.com
Could NZ’s next Christchurch Call be a push for fairer, safer AI?
Kiwis are using artificial intelligence in growing numbers, but trust is low. Could the push toward safer, more responsible AI offer NZ an economic opportunity?
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Despite a recent Stuff story that suggested we had opposing views on the topic, Cassandra and I are in complete agreement. Go read her excellent article in the Post!
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Can’t emphasise this enough. I once did a media interview where the interviewee said he was “tired” of hearing about the benefits of online communities and this post helps show why his exhaustion doesn’t matter.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
In case people in the back didn’t hear her, @smittermeier.bsky.social has an important point here.
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Dr. Cassandra Mudgway @legallyfeminist.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
A ban isn't radical. A real radical approach would be to no longer accept the governance and economic model that social media platforms rely, which we can and should regulate instead.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
CFP for a special issue of Interface: a journal for and about social movements on "Transnational repression and social movements" available at www.interfacejournal.net/wp-content/u.... Deadline for initial submissions to this issue, to be published in October/November 2026, is 30 March 2026.
Information on a CFP for a special issue of Interface on Transnational Repression and Social Movements. Access the full CFP at https://www.interfacejournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Interface-15-1-CFP-transnational-repression.pdf.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
A new issue of Interface: a journal for and about social movements (Vol. 15, Issue 1), is available now at www.interfacejournal.net/interface-vo.... Open access, as always!
Cover of Interface Volume 15 issue 1, showing a burning cart on a dark street. Visit interfacejournal.net to access the full issue.
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Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
This isn't just a casual observation. Fascism scholars have long made this point. It's why calling them "weird" was a more effective strategy than talking about the prices of eggs. Fascism is an aesthetic political movement - you need to make people feel embarassed and horrified by it.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
The answer to this is always yes. The same is true if the animal is dog, otter, sea lion, seal, squirrel, pig, cow… any animal, really.
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Stephanie King @stephstephking.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Are these the same companies that told us the robot could do it?
Wall Street Journal headlines that says Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers’
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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 15/12/2025
In the wake of the tragedy in Australia today, someone took the time to create a fake news website and made up a white “IT professional” named "Edward Crabtree" and claimed he stopped the Bondi shooting. The real hero is a man named Ahmed Al Ahmed. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
This is fucking grim. Somebody invented a white guy, an "IT professional" named Edward Crabtree, who stopped the Bondi shooting and spread it all over the internet, which was picked up by AI agents and slop aggregation sites. The real hero is a fruit stand owner named Ahmed el Ahmed.
A wrong Grok post making up a white guy who stopped the Australian mass shooting.BBC
'Hero' who wrestled gun from Bondi shooter named as Ahmed al Ahmed
Emily Atkinson
Sun, December 14, 2025 at 1:06 p.m. CST
2 min read

A "hero" bystander who was filmed wrestling a gun from one of the Bondi Beach attackers has been named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed.

Video verified by the BBC showed Mr Ahmed run at the gunman and seize his weapon, before turning the gun round on him, forcing his retreat.

Mr Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two, remains in hospital, where he has undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and hand, his family told 7News Australia.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
I‘m starting to suspect the expectation will be that teaching at a university level is less about a researcher’s field of research and more about prompt engineering sooner rather than later.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Apropos of nothing, anyone remember that Safer Online Systems and Media Platforms discussion document? Good times.
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Anna-Sophie Heinze @asheinze.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
🎉 New publication 🎉 Why do #youngpeople vote for the #AfD? This question has kept our research project busy for quite some time, so I'm beyond excited that our first article - co-authored with @timonscheuer.bsky.social - is now out in #GermanPolitics! 🤩 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 21/11/2025
For lots of reasons, I don’t like LLMs and I don’t use them, but I know there are serious people working on ways to meaningfully incorporate them into education and I don’t doubt there are ways to do that productively. It’s probably obvious that “Have the LLM tell you the answer” isn’t one of them.
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The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 21/11/2025
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other. Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to contribute some information on the definitional challenges and ethical questions about 'digital wellbeing' to the latest edition of CPI's TechREG Chronicle. Thanks to the editors there, who were very kind and patient. www.pymnts.com/cpi-posts/wh...
pymnts.com
Who Is Responsible for Digital Wellbeing? An Overview of Approaches, Threats, and Perspectives on Accountability | PYMNTS.com
The widespread availability and use of digital tools such as smartphones and social media platforms have led to extensive discussions about their social
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
🙌
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Sassy Little Hobbit @sassypolitico.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
They are saying 32% GST and 72 for retirement age so we will happily accept 20% GST and 68 for retirement age. Why don’t they say 5% wealth tax and 40% corporate tax on big conglomerates? No of course they won’t say that no siree.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Sadly, this is not surprising. And people in influential positions are still pushing this “theory”.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
As we were discussing elsewhere, cuts to Catalyst and Marsden funding are a full on assault on knowledge and critical thinking (in addition to a complete misunderstanding of research and its value).
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Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 29/07/2025
As we talk about the cheerful insanity of Australia's Social Media Ban again this morning, here's your periodical reminder that the book it's inspired by - The Anxious Generation - is hogwash. Not just me saying it, but this little journal you might have heard of: Nature. www.nature.com/artic...
nature.com
The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?
Nature - The evidence is equivocal on whether screen time is to blame for rising levels of teen depression and anxiety — and rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
If you're not tired of my hot takes on AI, I have another piece in @newsroom.co.nz, this time on the recently announced AI Strategy in NZ and its lack of a clear, er... strategy. newsroom.co.nz/2025/07/29/g.... Many thanks to @sarahhbickerton.bsky.social for her feedback and suggestions.
newsroom.co.nz
Govt's AI strategy is all hype and no vision
Opinion from the University of Otago: The long-awaited artificial intelligence plan proposes 'greater use of AI in business', but that’s basically where the goals begin and end, writes Dr Michael Daub...
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Dr Sarah Hendrica Bickerton 🏳️‍🌈 @sarahhbickerton.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Research has consistently shown that voting restrictions always have disproportionate impacts across the population. Those with less privilege, those at the margins, who are vulnerable, who are less embedded in societal institutions, are more likely to be impacted. www.teaonews.co.nz/2025/07/24/e...
teaonews.co.nz
Electoral law changes spark fears of lower Māori voter turnout, Minister ignored advice
The Government’s proposed overhaul of New Zealand’s electoral laws is being criticised for potentially undermining Māori voter turnout, particularly among young & first-time voters
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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Andrew is literally NZ's pre-eminent expert on electoral law. His view on this should be taken incredibly seriously. At absolute minimum, the BOR vet for the proposed change must be released immediately to see what official advice is & so that advice + govt's justification can be scrutinised.
I/s asks: One for the constitutional lawyers: given the demonstrated ability to manage same-day enrolment, is its removal a violation of the BORA s 12 right to vote?

Andrew Geddis answers: Yes.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
I’ve been told I’ve been negligent by not sharing that I wrote a thing in @newsroom.co.nz on big AI getting cozy with militaries and what that might mean for its users: newsroom.co.nz/2025/07/18/p...
newsroom.co.nz
Public-use AI helping in surveillance and warfare
Analysis from the University of Otago: Will ChatGPT users find themselves unwittingly contributing to increasing population surveillance, human rights violations, or warfare?
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Der Herr Sigismund @emsig.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Falls ihr euch fragt, ob es cancel culture wirklich gibt. Ja, gibt es. Aber nicht die, die von rechts immer mit Schaum vor dem Mund behauptet wird.
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 16/07/2025
Canada can see the costs of dependence on the US first hand. Trump is bullying us and Silicon Valley used his leverage to kill the digital services tax. As the Canadian government looks for a new cloud provider, it shouldn’t just prioritize local companies; it should invest in a public cloud.
disconnect.blog
Why Canada needs to build a public cloud
Dependence on US tech giants must end if the country is serious about digital sovereignty
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Can’t emphasise this point enough. The comments are designed to evoke responses, which leads to the further spread of those comments.
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Dr Sarah Hendrica Bickerton 🏳️‍🌈 @sarahhbickerton.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
I know this is hyperbole, but seriously I am going to knock my head against a wall. Unless you actually understand the technology you're making policy around, you will end up manifesting the negative externalities of such in profound ways with at best no mitigates nor even an assessment of benefit.
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Coley @coleytangerina.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
It’s so funny to me how bad the Free Speech Union is at their only job. Academics being targeted by the literal embodiment of the State (acting Prime Minister)? That’s not a free speech issue, don’t be silly! Free speech is only for when you want to force a campus to host your crappy event!
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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
A not-actually-a-dichotomy I wish people would stop talking about is "free speech vs hate speech". Despite both containing the word 'speech', these two are concepts are *entirely* different categories. Hate speech is a type of speech. Free speech is a right (or liberty) not a type of speech.
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Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 21/12/2024
Oh hell. Spiegel reports that the Christmas market attacker in Magdeburg is an Islamophobic fan of Alex Jones and Elon Musk (with Saudi roots). This while Musk is posting pro-Nazi content in response. 🤬 www.tickaroo.com/e/F...
tickaroo.com
Tatverdächtiger schwärmte für Elon Musk und Alex Jones
Tatverdächtiger schwärmte für Elon Musk und Alex JonesTaleb A. teilte offenbar die Ressentiments von Verschwörungsideologen und Hetzern wie dem US-amerikanischen Podcaster Alex Jones oder dem britischen Rechts-Aktivisten Tommy Robinson. Auch der Unternehmer Elon Musk, der immer unverhohlener seine Sympathien für rechte Parteien äußert, zählte wohl zu seinen Vorbildern: »Wenn du jemandem zuhörst wie Tommy Robinson oder sogar Elon Musk, und auch wenn du ignorant bist gegenüber dem Prozess der Islamisierung, wirst du denken, die beiden wären Verschwörungstheoretiker«, sagte A. in einem Interview. »Aber ich kann aus Erfahrung sagen, alles was Robinson sagt, was Musk sagt, was Alex Jones sagt, oder jeder der von Mainstream-Medien als Radikaler oder Rechtsextremer bezeichnet wird – sie sagen die Wahrheit.«Taleb A.  sagte in dem Interview, er sei kein Rechter und bezeichnete sich selbst als Linken. Jones gilt als Amerikas oberster Verschwörungstheoretiker und behauptet etwa, dass sich angebliche globale Eliten gegen die USA verbündet haben und dass gleichgeschlechtliche Ehen eine Verschwörung eines globalen Geheimbundes sind. Im Jahr 2022 wurde Jones in mehreren Prozessen wegen Falschbehauptungen zum Blutbad an der Sandy-Hook-Grundschule zu Schadensersatz in Höhe von insgesamt knapp 1,5 Milliarden Dollar verurteilt. Jones hatte über Jahre behauptet, das Schulmassaker habe gar nicht stattgefunden. Es sei vielmehr vorgetäuscht worden, um eine Verschärfung des Waffenrechts durchzusetzen. Trauernde Eltern seien nur Schauspieler. Dagegen hatten die Angehörigen geklagt.Elon Musk forderte am Freitagabend als Reaktion auf den mutmaßlichen Anschlag in Magdeburg den Rücktritt des deutschen Bundeskanzlers. »Scholz sollte sofort zurücktreten«, schrieb der reichste Mensch der Welt auf seiner Plattform X und kritisierte den deutschen Regierungschef als »incompetent fool«, was so viel wie »unfähiger Idiot« bedeutet. In einem weiteren Post teilte Musk Videoaufnahmen, die offenbar Rettungsfahrzeuge auf dem Magdeburger Weihnachtsmarkt zeigten. »Schrecklich«, kommentierte er die Aufnahmen.
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Jennifer Ashton @jenashton.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
I hope I’m reading this incorrectly, but it looks like the Marsden Fund will no longer fund Humanities projects because they don’t contribute to economic growth. The cultural and intellectual bankruptcy of this kind of thinking is beyond belief. www.beehive.govt.nz/release/mars...
beehive.govt.nz
Marsden Fund refocused for science with a purpose
Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins today announced the Government has updated the Marsden Fund to focus on core scientific research that helps lift our economic growth and c...
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Teddy Wilson @reportbywilson.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Extremists Links: Online Far Right Extremists Activity 'Consistently Increased' Throughout Week of Election
radicalreports.org
Extremists Links: Online Far Right Extremists Activity 'Consistently Increased' Throughout Week of Election
The online activity of far right extremists 'consistently increased throughout election week,' however, post-election has 'declined to the lowest overall level for at least a month,' according to ISD.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Just emptied my Xwitter account of content, so here are my dogs because the world needs good things and dogs are the best.
A tan dog with a white chest and blue collar named Figgis and a white dog with black eye patches and an orange collar named Stewie sitting on a bed with a colourful bedspread.
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 03/09/2024
If that last publication announcement wasn’t enough for you, I also have a new German language article written with my colleague Jeffrey Wimmer in Communicatio Socialis on methods to analyse the spread of extremism on online gaming platforms, available at www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/0010...
nomos-elibrary.de
Analyse von Extremismus in Online-Spieleplattformen. Ansätze und Herausforderungen - Nomos eLibrary
Online gaming platforms play a central role in racially motivated mass shootings worldwide. In order to critically reflect on this phenomenon, the article…
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Michael S. Daubs, PhD @mdaubs.bsky.social · 03/09/2024
Pleased to use my first post here to share a new publication in Media International Australia on the linkages between wellness communities and anti-vax views, available at journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/....
journals.sagepub.com
Wellness communities and vaccine hesitancy - Michael S. Daubs, 2024
This article articulates the intersection of wellness communities and anti-vaccine (‘anti-vax’) groups to demonstrate how vaccine misinformation and pseudoscien...
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