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Reposted by Edward Hurcombe

3C @3c-rmit.bsky.social · 5d

Check out the latest issue of Public Relations Review for an article by 3C’s David Micallef and Juan Feng with @eddyhurc.bsky.social (also from RMIT University): “Long live Darth Vapour! Examining how audiences engage with influencers in an anti-vaping campaign”: doi.org/10.1016/j.pu...

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · 24d

In the article, we conceptualise this 'translation' of campaign messages as 'vernacular authentication'. Here it is described in more detail:

Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · 24d

This campaign was characterised by the relative creative freedom provided to various kinds of influencers - nano, mid, and macro. Influencers responded by creating innovative and at times chaotic videos that responded to the tastes of their distinct sub-cultural audiences.

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · 24d

So cool to see this article out by me and @juanfeng.bsky.social and @saysdavid.bsky.social!

It's about how audiences on Instagram responded to a government-backed anti-vaping campaign that employed influencers.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Long live Darth Vapour! Examining how audiences engage with influencers in an anti-vaping campaign

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become role models for younger audiences, making them important stakeholders for engaging young people with healt…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Edward Hurcombe

Kurt Sengul @kurtsengul.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚨I spoke to Crikey for this story on the need for better media reporting on the far right!

Long story short: stop giving neo-Nazis propaganda wins

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/05/h...

How to report on neo-Nazis without giving them what they want

Media coverage of the anti-immigration marches was a 'propaganda triumph' for Australian neo-Nazis, who use media-baiting tactics to spread their message.

www.crikey.com.au

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Aug 12

Love this opening! And so exciting!!

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Reposted by Edward Hurcombe

Ehsan Dehghan @essideh.com · Aug 12

Very excited to share that my book, The Discursive-Digital Link, is now available for pre-order on Routledge: tinyurl.com/the-ddl. The e-book is already available to order with a 30% discount!
You can also read the synopsis and the Introduction chapter on my website: essideh.com/ddl/

(thread)

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Reposted by Edward Hurcombe

Diana Bossio @dbossio.bsky.social · Aug 7

Come and join our research network - reading group, grant proposal support, visiting scholars and industry events to come!

News, Technology, and Society Network @ntsnetwork.bsky.social · Aug 6

📆 Our next reading group is on 3 September. If you have suggestions for future readings or are Melbourne-based and would like to join, please send an email to [email protected].

@sethclewis.bsky.social @tomasdodds.bsky.social @rodzam.bsky.social

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Aug 6

It was awesome to run our first reading group of the newly established @ntsnetwork.bsky.social! Great to have some time in our busy schedules for thought-provoking discussions about new research

News, Technology, and Society Network @ntsnetwork.bsky.social · Aug 6

Eleven academics met today to discuss "The AI turn in journalism: Disruption, adaptation, and democratic futures" recent essay during our first News, Technology, and Society Network reading group. Thanks to @dbossio.bsky.social for facilitating and to all from RMIT and beyond who attended.

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Jul 11

(also, you should write about this btw lol)

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Jul 11

This captures exactly why I enjoy these games so much. Just mucking around with friends in a low-budget janky game, breaking it at the seams and goofing about

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Reposted by Edward Hurcombe

Daniel Angus @antmandan.bsky.social · Jun 23

Absolutely pathetic. @australianlabor.bsky.social just rubber-stamps every violent whim of a decaying empire. Backing US airstrikes like obedient lapdogs. No debate. No soul. Just spineless war-mongering dressed up as “strategy.” We deserve so much better.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

Australia backs US strikes on Iran while urging return to diplomacy

Penny Wong says action to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon was acceptable, but that talks should now resume.

www.abc.net.au

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Jun 2

This has been my experience as well!

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · May 8

I just wrote a new article for the Conversation! It's about how the Australian media landscape is changing, but also how politicians and legacy media are innovating to reach young people.

theconversation.com/in-the-age-o...

In the age of the influencer, does the political backing of News Corp matter anymore?

Despite backing from the Murdoch-owned papers, the Coalition didn’t win the election. But it’s more complicated than simply old media versus new media.

theconversation.com

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Apr 2

Finally!! Congrats Damien

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Mar 6

Glad you liked the paper! It's a really interesting space - your PhD looks super topical as well!

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Feb 3

We are especially interested in how Meta's problem framings support certain 'solutions'. Overall, we find that Meta, on its main company blog, tended to frame problems in ways that benefited the company, by shifting responsibility while also showing that Meta was a capable problem-solver.

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Feb 3

Our article 'The discursive function of the Meta Newsroom' is out!

In it, me, @essideh.com, @voddenlaura.bsky.social, and @antmandan.bsky.social examine how Meta's blog framed issues to do with mis/disinfo, hate speech, etc on Meta platforms during 2016-2021.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Silvia Montaña @silmonn.bsky.social · Jan 8

Some reflections with colleagues @nedwatt.bsky.social and @riedlinm.bsky.social at @theconvo-bot.bsky.social on Meta's decision to end its professionally funded fact-checking model in its platforms and adopt the X crowdsourcing model with a new 'community notes'👇 theconversation.com/meta-is-aban...

Meta is abandoning fact checking – this doesn’t bode well for the fight against misinformation

Numerous studies have shown that fact checking has helped reduce the spread of misinformation and disinformation online.

theconversation.com

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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · Dec 4

Make no mistake, colleagues: the exclusion of humanities & social science research from national competitive funding could easily happen here in Australia. The signs & actors are already clear. We let it happen at our collective peril.

Michael Plank @michaelplanknz.bsky.social · Dec 4

This is so backward
1. Science is more than just commercialisable widgetry
2. Making progress on our biggest problems (climate change, infectious diseases, misinfo to name a few) will need more collaboration between STEM and hum/social sci not less.

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Tama Leaver @tamaleaver.bsky.social · Nov 22

It's been really heartening working with @dezuanni.bsky.social, @aleeshajoy.bsky.social and Amanda Levido to produce the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child's response to the Social Media Ban for Under16s Bill that was tabled yesterday.

digitalchild.org.au/research/pub...

Responding to the Online Safety Amendment Bill 2024 Social Media Minimum Age

140 Experts say banning people under 16 from social media won't make social media safe

children have a right to be online and have fun, positive, educational, and safe experiences.

We should be enabling Australian children and teens to be full, articulate, deeply literate digital citizens.

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Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Nov 21

Also lots of online discourse going on about whether the 'left' needs its own news influencer sphere (there sort of already is one, albeit with less money and reach)

aftermath.site/twitch-youtu...

After The Election, Leftist Influencers Are At A Crossroads - Aftermath

Joe Rogan – the man and the cultural phenomenon – is not something you can simply grow in a tube. But cries for a liberal Joe Rogan elide a more salient point: There is already a left-leaning content ...

aftermath.site

Edward Hurcombe @eddyhurc.bsky.social · Nov 21

Interesting to see more attention being paid to 'news influencers' post- US election! Keen to start doing this kind of systematic research beyond the US

www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2...

America’s News Influencers

This study explores the makeup of the social media news influencer universe, including who they are, what content they create and who their audiences are.

www.pewresearch.org

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Brendan Keogh @brkeogh.bsky.social · Nov 20

It's really hard to overstate how many world-leading experts on digital media and social media are at Australian universities (I work with many of them!), and the overwhelming majority of them will tell you the social media ban is a bad and counterproductive idea.

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Brendan Keogh @brkeogh.bsky.social · Nov 18

lmao get absolutely owned, Albo. Good thing no university had already started its austerity budget and staff cuts in preparation for this policy 🤪 www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11...

Labor's plan to cap international student enrolments from next year appears doomed after Coalition vows to block

The Coalition has announced it will oppose the government's bill to limit the number of international students able to enrol from next year, just weeks out from when the caps were meant to come into f...

www.abc.net.au

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