Politics

Research Blog

Dec 18, 20222 min read

How do digital election campaigns work?

Digital election campaigns refer to the use of digital technologies, such as the internet and social media, to promote political...

Dec 16, 20224 min read

Do echo chambers really exist on social media? The case for, and against.

Echo chambers are a pervasive and contentious issue in the world of social media. On the one hand, some argue that echo chambers are a...

Dec 16, 20224 min read

How will AI help governments govern and what threats does it bring?

AI has the potential to help governments govern, but with this power comes new threats. We explore these positives and negatives.

Dec 11, 20227 min read

How can we protect elections from the negative influences of social media?

Elections are threatened by different aspects of social media. This article outlines several ways we can protect free and fair elections.

Mar 23, 202111 min read

How many Facebook followers do the leader and party pages of the UK have? (2010-2021)

The Facebook followers of leader and party pages of UK political parties from 2010 to 2021. Post Corbyn, the Tories are now dominating.

Nov 9, 20201 min read

Tristan Hotham, founder of the Social Media Research Centre on BBC World News

Tristan Hotham, our founder, was on BBC World News discussing a contested election in the social media age.

Jul 19, 20201 min read

Black Lives Matter: decentralised leadership and the problems of online organising

Black Lives Matter and social media organising

Jul 19, 20201 min read

Boris Johnson Was Electoral Marmite But The Conservative Campaign Used Him Cleverly

The nuanced use of Boris Johnson in Facebook Targeted Ads shows the Conservatives clever campaign.

Jun 19, 20204 min read

2019 the Brexit election? The use of Brexit in party Facebook advertisements

How did the political parties use Brexit in their 2019 General Election Facebook advertisements?

Dec 16, 20192 min read

Labour’s northern pivot in their advertising — how it happened and failed

The party was in stasis after leaving open their northern heartlands. Labour were running 183 adverts on Friday 9th December. Of these...

Dec 16, 20199 min read

Copy, edit, upload. The hybrid media system in action across the 2019 General Election

Parties today love to reuse others content as part of a new media system.

Dec 12, 20195 min read

‘Edit the Win’— How parties reusing broadcaster content fans the flames of polarisation

The rapid evolution of new communication technologies via social media has reshaped political campaigning. The content parties use for...

Dec 11, 20194 min read

What topics did the parties' 2019 targeted adverts cover?

The parties use targeted advertisements to gather data, inform and activate voters. This election is likely to be one of the most...

Dec 7, 20194 min read

Brexit, NHS and leadership dominate, what topics are the parties using in their 2019 targeted ads?

Facebook can be used as both a sword and a shield, but parties must choose how they use this powerful tool. Parties can hammer core...

Dec 5, 20194 min read

We need to talk about A/B testing: Brexit, attack ads and the election campaign

Political parties using Facebook ads have a powerful capacity to hone their messages. Unlike in the past – where expensive and...

Dec 5, 20197 min read

Is Workington Man actually Workington Woman?

Tory think tank Onward released a report on the 30th October detailing an important new voter group labelled ‘Workington Man’. Like...

Nov 26, 20191 min read

ＢＯＲＩＳＷＡＶＥグジに 2

The Tories are finally “in the post-irony age of the internet” so says IratePirate on YouTube. I type this as I listen to “lo fi...

Nov 12, 20195 min read

ＢＯＲＩＳＷＡＶＥグジに — How did Vaporwave end up as a Tory party aesthetic during the 2019 General Election?

Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s. Vaporwave is musically based on...

Nov 12, 201911 min read

What is A/B testing? Examples from the Liberal Democrats during the 2019 general election

You may have seen elements of this report in this Observer/Guardian news piece and then also reported on the Andrew Marr show. The...

Sep 6, 20193 min read

The meme-ification of politics

The meme-ification of politics is here, but it is a double-edged sword, as it has the potential to both engage and drive away.

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