I highly recommend this new report on Malaysia's (now repealed) fake news law. It extends two key conclusions from our book: (1) fake news has become a floating signifier used to delegitimise opponents, and (2) post-truth discourses have legitimised anti-democratic measures.
From the report: "our content analysis
revealed that BN used the label “fake news” primarily as a rhetorical tool, importing the meaning of the phrase from foreign figures and sources." (p. 6)
"In the case of “fake news,” BN’s securitizing moves relied heavily on images and rhetoric from abroad—much of which has been developed in English-language media from the US and Europe since 2016." (p. 8)
Just realized that several great articles that shaped my thinking on digital media came out 10 years ago this year! Here is a short thread for those interested:
It’s been 3 years since our book came out! To celebrate, I just wanted to highlight some of the great critical research on fake news discourses that has come out in 2021 and 2022.
I’ve been asked for some tips for publishing as a PhD student. So here are 7 things I've learnt. Take what you can use – feel free to add 😊 (thread) #phdchat#AcademicTwitter#AcademicChatter#phdlife
(1) Seek out co-authors
You learn so much from working with others! Find people you like to work with, have time for the project and pull their weight. Job titles are secondary.
(2) Aim for acceptance, not perfection
We’re all insecure about our work – especially in the beginning. If your co-author, mentor or reviewer is satisfied with your argument, you should be too!
🎉1 year since our book came out!🎉 I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the great research that has come out since, extending our findings and critique of post-truth discourses (a thread, 1/11)
2/11 In our book, we criticize the rise of censorship laws worldwide claiming to 'eradicate fake news.' Since then, @gabriellelim has published a brilliant study of Malaysia's now repealed 'Anti Fake News Law'. datasociety.net/library/securi…
3/11 In a German context, @MonseesLinda has done a great critical study of the fake news debate, showing how media discourses "legitimise security measures that control the spread of news and potentially harm free journalism" (p. 10) tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…
Last year, a senior scholar reached out to me (a PhD student) to say he would unfollow me cause my tweets were too personal and boring. Based on this, I have a tip: Don't do that.
To be clear, people are more than welcome to follow and unfollow whoever they like. But don't DM people about it. And please recognise your position of power.
Wow. Glad this resonated with so many. Hope others will think twice. I don't have a SoundCloud. But I did publish a book, one year ago exactly actually. You can read about it here.
Lol. It happened again. A journalist calls me about COVID misinformation, and because I'm not as fearmongering as they hoped, they omit me from the article without telling me🙃
This time, it was about growing concern among Danes regarding the COVID vaccine. I said it's perfectly understandable why people are concerned, as vaccines are being developed at record speeds. And just because there's concern doesn't mean they'll refuse a vaccine when it's here
I also stressed that Denmark's own health authorities have raised concern multiple times in national media about some of the vaccines worldwide that are skipping normal procedure to be faster. So why is it so weird that the public is concerned as well?