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Steph Hill

@sahill.bsky.social
808 followers 483 following 91 posts

PhD. Lecturer in media and communication at the University of Leicester. Researching businesses in the policy process, greenwashing, the UN Plastic Treaty, platforms, content moderation, and more. When possible also about birds, books, and BJJ.

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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I am a little shocked at how stupid this is. They did not need to do this.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
These people turned down every opportunity for adjustments and compensation and then went to the media to whine about not being able to burn wood for heat in downtown Toronto?!
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 11/09/2026
Here's what I think about when I think back on 9/11. The attack happened on the watch of a Republican president who had been warned, repeatedly & explicitly, that an attack was coming. He dismissed those warnings.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This is not a good post-work relaxation strategy. #Silksong
The menu screen for Team Cherry's Silksong, a torture device disguised as a whimsical video game about bugs.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Apparently their sample was 80% women--you don't say!
List of respondents' favourite British shows--starting with Sherlock, Harry Potter, and Black Mirror
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Our third speakers look at how young Chinese audiences consume British screen content. Talking about the home advantage for screens--people like to watch content that is culturally familiar, but this is changing! (Except in Denmark, apparently)
A slide listing research questions, including why do young Chinese audiences choose British content
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Our second speaker examines how fan silence can speak volumes looking at fans of the show Untamed, where a love story was turned to a "just friends" story.
Speaker at a podium in front of a slide showing the history of the show Untamed.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Our first speaker, Jigyasa Singh, is explaining her study on co-viewing practices of fathers and sons.
A speaker stands in front of a podium, speaking from notes
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Our panel on fandom and comparative viewing practices is underway in room 2.06! #MeCCSA @deptmedialeic.bsky.social
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Prof. Anamik Saha giving a keynote on how diversity became hegemonic and how that hegemony so easily began to collapse. Covers the push for more representation and hiring in the 2010s. Really appreciate seeing this period put into context as hegemony. #MeCCSA2026 @deptmedialeic.bsky.social
A man lectures in front of slides depicting the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Excited to welcome folks to Leicester for #MeCCSA2026 tomorrow. I'm chairing a panel on fandom and comparative viewing practices at 1. See you there!
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Leicester Media & Communication @deptmedialeic.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This year marks 60 years of Media & Communication at Leicester @uniofleicester.bsky.social As part of this celebration, we are honoured to host the #MeCCSA2026 Conference from 2-4 September 2026. Keynote speakers include Dr Andrea Medrado, Prof Anamik Saha, & Prof Helen Wood. meccsa2026.le.ac.uk
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Insane new research. Scientists gave asthma patients free electric stoves to replace their gas stoves, then checked to see if symptoms improved. Not only did symptoms improve, ditching gas was *better than medicine.* Details in today's newsletter: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
climatecoloredgoggles.com
Researchers used electric stoves to treat asthma. It worked.
The latest evidence that gas is bad for your health.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
You can read the paper here! Testing the greenwashing assessment framework - Ecology & Society share.google/qHUlUNlqAUQT...
share.google
Ecology & Society: Testing the greenwashing assessment framework
Greenwashing is of growing concern as the world struggles to respond to the triple planetary crises of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. New terminology to label greenwashing has enter...
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I was presenting work on the greenwashing assessment framework, authored by me and colleagues at the Spinning Climate Change Working Group at @cssn.org
An image of a paintbrush painting green and the text "session 2 transdisciplinary interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches"
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Back in the saddle. The saddle in this case being gesturing in front of a slide deck at the ESR preconference. #ESR #CommSky #IAMCR
Woman gesturing in front of PowerPoint slide.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Really happy to be part of this edited book! Available now and holding an online launch this Thursday. bookstore.emerald.com/platforms-an...
bookstore.emerald.com
Platforms and the Planet
Developing a critical understanding of environmental responsibility and accountability of digital platforms, Platforms and the Planet focuses on the environmental responsibility of the so-called Big Tech, their digital media platforms and their role in the sustainability transition as a discursive, material, and ethical question.
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Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
New move in academic publishing: The @ec.europa.eu is launching Open Research Europe (ORE), an open access publishing platform for research funded by all EU programmes. @academic-chatter.bsky.social research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-res...
research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu
A new era for Open Research Europe
European Commission to co-fund new phase of operation for open access publishing platform.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Sort of surprised to find that the government is actually making progress on some things some of the time.
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Hanna E. Morris, Ph.D. @hannamorris.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Join us in Dublin on June 27 to reflect on past, current, and future trajectories of the field of climate change communication. We encourage practice-based abstracts from climate media-makers, activists, & community organizers in addition to traditional scholarly papers. iamcr.org/galway2026/e...
iamcr.org
Reimagining Climate Media Research | IAMCR
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 12/02/2026
If China's emissions had kept growing at previous levels emissions would like, what, maybe a full GIGATONNE higher....the area of avoided emissions here is like deleting the emissions of entire countries. This is happening at a scale that will very clearly have an effect in lessening disasters
a badly drawn marked up version showing avoided emissions
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Hanna E. Morris, Ph.D. @hannamorris.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
The Special Issue on Backlash, Borders, and Bunkers: Antidemocratic Politics and Climate Change Communication that I edited is now available. A huge thanks to @phaedra.bsky.social for the opportunity to edit this project and to all of the contributing authors! www.tandfonline.com/toc/renc20/2...
tandfonline.com
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GENeva Environment Network @genevaenvironmentnetwork.org · 30/01/2026
#Live now! As misinformation & disinformation undermine global efforts to address the #TriplePlanetaryCrisis, join this event zooming in on challenges and solutions to prevent #disinformation in environmental policy making. ▶️ tiny.cc/GEN30Jan26 📺 youtube.com/watch?v=oHeghqjN2RA
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CZEdwards @czedwards.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%). Lay article attached:
pbs.org
One of the biggest microplastic pollution sources isn’t straws or grocery bags – it’s your tires
Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go? The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particle...
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CAAD_Coalition @caadcoalition.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
💡 In 2025, CAAD & Roots launched the Fellowship for Countering Disinformation, bringing together community organisers on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Their research shines a light on how climate disinfo operates across the Global South & how communities are fighting back.
buff.ly
Climate Action Against Disinformation | Fellowship for Countering Disinformation
In 2025, CAAD partnered with Roots to launch a new six-month Fellowship for Countering Disinformation. The fellowship brought together eight community organisers from Argentina, South Africa,…
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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
This passage shocked me to my core. The loss of biodiversity isn't a tragic accident or oversight, it was the plan!
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Really liking this little video series on gardening for wildlife. Learning about UK host plants and growing hops for comma butterflies and deadnettle for bees on my little patio is a real joy in grim times. www.lesslawnmorelife.com/wildside/reb...
lesslawnmorelife.com
Rebecca McMackin
Watch renowned horticulturist Rebecca McMackin in her private garden. Learn about the growing rewilding movement, her approach to non-native plants, and why she has hope.
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Note the whole brand-new book this is from is available FREE online at cssn.org/news-researc...
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 22/10/2025
Massive new study out from a large number of news organisations - random text generator chatbots are not a reliable source of information. Includes demonstrations of how it specifically gets climate answers specifically very wrong -->> www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/...
What have we found?
First – there have been improvements since the earlier BBC study.
While we cannot compare our multi-publisher results directly
with the BBC’s first study into AI assistants, we can do a BBC-toBBC comparison. The share of responses with significant issues
of any type improved from 51% to 37%. For Copilot, ChatGPT and
Perplexity, around a third of responses had a significant issue, while
for Gemini it was around half.
Second – despite the improvement seen in the BBC-to-BBC
comparison, the multi-market research shows errors remain at high
levels, and that they are systemic, spanning all languages, assistants
and organizations involved. Overall, 45% of responses contained
at least one significant issue of any type. Sourcing is the single
biggest cause of significant issues (31%). Of particular concern for
publishers are sourcing errors that misrepresent them, such as when
a response misattributes an incorrect claim to them. Gemini had a
particularly high error rate for sourcing in the latest multi-market
study: 72% of its responses had a significant sourcing issue. All
other assistants were below 25%.
So, there has been progress in some areas, but there is much more to
do. Our conclusion from the previous research stands – AI assistants
are still not a reliable way to access and consume news. Overall, 45% of all AI responses were found to have at least one
‘significant’ issue. When including ‘some issues’, 81% of responses
have an issue of some form.
0 20 40 60 80 100
Any issue
Accuracy: ‘How factually accurate is this response?’ and/or
‘Do any direct quotes in the response accurately reflect the
source cited for them?’
Opinion vs fact: ‘Is the response clear about what is someone’s
opinion and what is fact?’
Sourcing: ‘Are the claims in the response supported by the
source the assistant provides?’
Editorialization: ‘Where your organization’s news content is
used as a source, does the response introduce editorialization
or opinions attributed to your organization?’
Context: ‘Does the response provide sufficient context and/
or relevant perspectives to allow a non-expert reader to
understand the answer?’
Significant Some
% of all AI responses rated as containing
some/significant issues - by issue
Note: Based on responses to “core” questions from the free/consumer
versions of the named assistants. Copilot n=675, ChatGPT n=678, Perplexity
n=681, Gemini n=675. Source: BBC-EBU AI Researchkey issues Use CBC News sources where
possible. How did the recent LA
fires start?
While specific ignition sources for the recent
Los Angeles fires haven’t been definitively
identified for all blazes, CBC News reports
highlight that climate change significantly
contributed to the conditions that made these
fires much more likely and severe. [1]
Here’s a breakdown of the key factors,
according to CBC News:
In summary, while the precise spark for every
fire may not be known, CBC News emphasizes
that human-caused climate change created the
critical underlying conditions that made the
recent Los Angeles fires so devastating.
[1] https://www.npr.org/...
[2] https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/...
[3] https://wfca.com/wildfire-articles/...
[4] https://www.britannica.com/question/...
[5] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/...
Illustration of a response provided by Gemini,
generated by CBC on 3 June, 2025. Original
prompt included the prefix “Use CBC
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Keep it in the headlines!
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Great to see/hear Melissa on @drilledmedia.bsky.social talking about the role of PR and discussing the greenwashing assessment framework!
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Literary Leicester 2025 @litleic.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Plot twist — we’re back! Mark your calendars for #litleics26, coming your way in March. As always, all events are FREE! 🥳
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 02/09/2025
It would be super cool to go back to 2014, find a rando and ask them whether a fall in EU coal use for power generation of 60% in 10 years feels possible or even likely ember-energy.org/data/electri...
a chart showing a steep decline of coal power use in Europe from 2010 onwards
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
This thread communicates better than many a graduate seminar that I have attended.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
This is infuriating. What is the point of a Marine Protected Area if trawlers are allowed to keep ploughing it? Yet again, the government has succumbed to commercial lobbying. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Bottom trawling to continue in English protected waters, government rules
Defra says blanket ban on ‘destructive’ fishing practice disproportionate as MPs urge minister to reconsider
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Rebecca Altman, PhD @rebecca-altman.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Pennsylvania plastic producer held accountable for nurdle/preproduction plastic pollution into local river system. insideclimatenews.org/news/0409202... #plasticstreaty
insideclimatenews.org
Pennsylvania Plastics Pollution Settlement Could Set a National Precedent for Control of Pellets - Inside Climate News
The case is the first citizen suit to successfully settle over “nurdles” in an inland waterway. State regulators weighed in to help.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
My aspirational/delusional maternity leave reading pile. #CommSky #AcademicSky
A stack of five books: Gaming Democracy, Profit Over Privacy, The Cancel Culture Panic, Cloud Empires, and Appropriate, Negotiate, Challenge.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
I think I like it because OF COURSE these are the kinds of people who work for Facebook.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
I'm enjoying the book but the author is trying to walk a fine line and not always succeeding. I get that she is trying to seem relatable and excuse why she is still there, but after a few stories of comical mixups it seems less like she is a mislead idealist and more like she's a little dumb, maybe?
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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Pants across Toronto are wet this morning in fear of this spreading here.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Such a good list.
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up. NYT just covered it. 1/n www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
nytimes.com
Law Firm Pressures Brown University to Erase Research on Anti-Wind Groups
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Earth Negotiations Bulletin @enb.iisd.org · 09/08/2025
At #INC5_2, Chair Luis Vayas says: There is no more time to keep adding positions already stated... a real push to achieve our common goal is needed... We must deliver by 14 August 2025." #PlasticsTreaty @unep.org
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
As usual, the ENB indispensable for us following along from home. Having watched some of the webcasts, I propose that the phrase "worked tirelessly" be retired from the discussions. I bet a lot of those people are plenty tired.
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GENeva Environment Network @genevaenvironmentnetwork.org · 06/08/2025
In the margins of #PlasticsTreaty #INC-5.2, the GENis at "No Plastics in Nature: Turning the Tide Together" organized by WWF. The gathering will reflect on 5 years of progress against #PlasticPollution & look ahead to what’s needed from the treaty and beyond.
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Steph Hill @sahill.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
I'm spending the summer feeding newborn twins and I have never been more grateful for cosy museum content. youtu.be/bd6GRXPD0Fw?...
youtu.be
Unboxing Tarot Decks Through the Ages 🔮💀🌙 | Ancient Rare Historical & Modern Tarot Cards
YouTube video by Victoria and Albert Museum
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kate conger @kateconger.com · 25/07/2025
Between Musk & the Trump administration, Media Matters has been squeezed to the brink. In settlement discussions, lawyers for X demanded the organization hand over all its cash and shut down — all because MM reported ads appeared on X next to antisemitic content. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/u...
nytimes.com
Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis
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Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Toronto knows what’s up.
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CE (Catie) Murphy @cemurphy.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Left: Hugh Jackman in the male gaze Right: Hugh Jackman in the female gaze i mean like literally. one's a muscle mag for lads & the other is GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, for god's sake
Two magazine covers, both featuring Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman. On the men's magazine MUSCLE & FITNESS, he's shirtless, dehydrated, jacked, popping claws and glaring at the camera. This is the male gaze.

On the women's magazine GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, he's smiling, wearing a v-necked teal sweater, torso slightly arched gracefully away from the camera. This is the female gaze.
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Not many politicians in the UK tell the truth about farming or are brave enough to criticise the cakeism of the main farming unions. But Lee Waters MS does in this refreshingly honest speech. Almost every word of it applies to England as much as Wales. amanwy.blogspot.com/2025/07/we-n...
amanwy.blogspot.com
We need to re-set the debate on farming
Speech in the Senedd on 16th July 2025 Let me start with the obvious: Farming is hard. I am proud to come from a family of farmers, and I un...
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