Aaron Ackerley
@aaronackerley.bsky.social
Modern British History. Press and Media. Empire. Economics. Knowledge and Power.
Lecturer in British Studies, University of Oslo
Lecturer in British Studies, University of Oslo
Pinned
Aaron Ackerley
@aaronackerley.bsky.social
· Oct 29
Vol. 19 No. 1 (2025): Journalistica 2025
| Journalistica
tidsskrift.dk
Happy to see my article 'Editorial control, the division of responsibilities, and journalistic autonomy' in Journalistica is now live.
Available open access here: tidsskrift.dk/journalistic...
#mediahistory #journalismhistory
Available open access here: tidsskrift.dk/journalistic...
#mediahistory #journalismhistory
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Starmer keeps using this line, & it's bonkers.
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
!["And this is what Keir Starmer’s press secretary has said about Robert Jenrick at the lobby briefing this morning.
[Highlighted] Robert Jenrick was the immigration minister in a government that presided over an open borders experiment [Highlighted], a health minister who left people stuck on waiting lists, and a Treasury minister during the worst decline in living standards on record.”
While Reform continues to welcome failed Tory retreads, this Labor government is putting the country back on track."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cixgmtrg7nzy4gkmyfeosaox/bafkreibe3jczrmbmzfnhj2adl4qe432lbpmcbn6m6qrentwih7vxj4fu7y@jpeg)
January 15, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Starmer keeps using this line, & it's bonkers.
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Most importantly, it's untrue: the party that ended Free Movement, ran the "hostile environment" & made Suella Braverman Home Sec did not run "an experiment in open borders".
It's also politically mad. Voters who believe this will not vote for Starmer
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Credit where credit is due: I agree with Mike Johnson that "ICE is doing what ICE is designed to do" (serve as the regime's paramilitary arm tasked with escalating the political conflict by violently occupying liberal-leaning urban centers and treating the local population as the "enemy within")
Mike Johnson comes out against additional guardrails on ICE as Democrats call for it.
“I think there's a lot of Democrats playing games right now with national security and with law enforcement. And I think it's dangerous. Ice is doing what ice is designed to do by its very name.”
“I think there's a lot of Democrats playing games right now with national security and with law enforcement. And I think it's dangerous. Ice is doing what ice is designed to do by its very name.”
January 15, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Credit where credit is due: I agree with Mike Johnson that "ICE is doing what ICE is designed to do" (serve as the regime's paramilitary arm tasked with escalating the political conflict by violently occupying liberal-leaning urban centers and treating the local population as the "enemy within")
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Worth noting what Jenrick HASN'T been sacked for during his career. Please add your own (there are many), but one is sharing a platform with a founder of neo-Nazi terror group Cpmbat-18.
January 15, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Worth noting what Jenrick HASN'T been sacked for during his career. Please add your own (there are many), but one is sharing a platform with a founder of neo-Nazi terror group Cpmbat-18.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Since he's in the news, I've taken the paywall off my old bit on Robert Jenrick's record as housing secretary:
peteapps.substack.com/p/robert-jen...
peteapps.substack.com/p/robert-jen...
Robert Jenrick was the worst housing secretary I can remember. He would be a dangerous leader of the opposition
Jenrick was almost comically bad as housing secretary, but the prospect of him taking control of the Conservatives is seriously frightening
peteapps.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Since he's in the news, I've taken the paywall off my old bit on Robert Jenrick's record as housing secretary:
peteapps.substack.com/p/robert-jen...
peteapps.substack.com/p/robert-jen...
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Sums up how rubbish Badenoch is that she has been forced into a “You’re dumping me? I’m dumping you!” rather than just sacking and disbarring Jenrick over the many, many things that would have kept him out of any Tory Cabinet since 1968.
January 15, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Sums up how rubbish Badenoch is that she has been forced into a “You’re dumping me? I’m dumping you!” rather than just sacking and disbarring Jenrick over the many, many things that would have kept him out of any Tory Cabinet since 1968.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Badenoch is fascinating. So busy fighting culture wars online that she considers the very real potential for the break-up of the military alliance on which the UK relies for security to be a fringe issue.
Kemi Badenoch describes Greenland as a “second-order issue” in BBC interview.
The US threatening to annex a Nato territory is anything but that.
The US threatening to annex a Nato territory is anything but that.
January 11, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Badenoch is fascinating. So busy fighting culture wars online that she considers the very real potential for the break-up of the military alliance on which the UK relies for security to be a fringe issue.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
The BBC is doing it again. On both the Radio 3 & Radio 6 news it reported Vance's story about that video of Renee Good's murder and denials of it, without telling us the facts. It should have the same approach to weather forecasting: "some say it'll rain, some say it won't. Who can tell, eh?"
January 10, 2026 at 8:48 AM
The BBC is doing it again. On both the Radio 3 & Radio 6 news it reported Vance's story about that video of Renee Good's murder and denials of it, without telling us the facts. It should have the same approach to weather forecasting: "some say it'll rain, some say it won't. Who can tell, eh?"
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Republican bullies deploy more threats against the UK to protect their big tech corporate allies.
January 9, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Republican bullies deploy more threats against the UK to protect their big tech corporate allies.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Not sure why Tony Blair's think tank refuses to answer reasonable questions about its work
But dismissing award-winning independent journalists from Democracy for Sale and @lighthousereports.com as "partisan" and "disingenuous" is pure Musk/Trump
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
But dismissing award-winning independent journalists from Democracy for Sale and @lighthousereports.com as "partisan" and "disingenuous" is pure Musk/Trump
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
Blair bids to build own AI tools to rival Palantir
TBI insiders warn of “'insane” plan to transform think tank into a tech company
democracyforsale.substack.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Not sure why Tony Blair's think tank refuses to answer reasonable questions about its work
But dismissing award-winning independent journalists from Democracy for Sale and @lighthousereports.com as "partisan" and "disingenuous" is pure Musk/Trump
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
But dismissing award-winning independent journalists from Democracy for Sale and @lighthousereports.com as "partisan" and "disingenuous" is pure Musk/Trump
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
🔴Tony Blair Institute talks lots about democracy
But his week I contacted them for comment on this story
The response? "You are an organisation with a long-standing and partisan anti-TBI agenda and we will not engage with your disingenuous questions."
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
But his week I contacted them for comment on this story
The response? "You are an organisation with a long-standing and partisan anti-TBI agenda and we will not engage with your disingenuous questions."
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
Blair bids to build own AI tools to rival Palantir
TBI insiders warn of “'insane” plan to transform think tank into a tech company
democracyforsale.substack.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:48 AM
🔴Tony Blair Institute talks lots about democracy
But his week I contacted them for comment on this story
The response? "You are an organisation with a long-standing and partisan anti-TBI agenda and we will not engage with your disingenuous questions."
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
But his week I contacted them for comment on this story
The response? "You are an organisation with a long-standing and partisan anti-TBI agenda and we will not engage with your disingenuous questions."
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/blair-bids...
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Hey! @manchesterup.bsky.social are having 40% off sale, so it's time to order mine and @d-j-frost.bsky.social's new book 'In Solidarity, Under Suspicion: The British Far Left from 1956'. Discount for UK/EU calculated at till, US/Can use code 'JAN40'.
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
Manchester University Press - In solidarity, under suspicion
In solidarity, under suspicion - Browse and buy the Hardcover edition of In solidarity, under suspicion by Daniel Frost
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
January 7, 2026 at 7:25 AM
Hey! @manchesterup.bsky.social are having 40% off sale, so it's time to order mine and @d-j-frost.bsky.social's new book 'In Solidarity, Under Suspicion: The British Far Left from 1956'. Discount for UK/EU calculated at till, US/Can use code 'JAN40'.
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Nice to see my article '122 Years Later: "Boots" and Kipling's Status in Popular Culture' is out in the latest issue of the Kipling Journal:
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Nice to see my article '122 Years Later: "Boots" and Kipling's Status in Popular Culture' is out in the latest issue of the Kipling Journal:
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
Texas A&M Bans Plato - Daily Nous
Drop the race and gender material from your course and the Plato readings, or teach a different course. You have a day to decide. That's a paraphrase of what Martin Peterson, professor of philosophy a...
dailynous.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:36 AM
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
I don't know how to describe it, but there's this profound brokenness in the American body politic where nobody can take the implications of anything seriously. People keep saying things that should be existential threats to the political system, and then everyone just keeps going on as normal.
fuck outta here
January 6, 2026 at 6:28 PM
I don't know how to describe it, but there's this profound brokenness in the American body politic where nobody can take the implications of anything seriously. People keep saying things that should be existential threats to the political system, and then everyone just keeps going on as normal.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
can anyone on bluesky get me in touch with someone important at the BBC bc i have some questions eg. "what the fuck you fucking fucks"
January 6, 2026 at 6:05 PM
can anyone on bluesky get me in touch with someone important at the BBC bc i have some questions eg. "what the fuck you fucking fucks"
Nice to see my article '122 Years Later: "Boots" and Kipling's Status in Popular Culture' is out in the latest issue of the Kipling Journal:
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Nice to see my article '122 Years Later: "Boots" and Kipling's Status in Popular Culture' is out in the latest issue of the Kipling Journal:
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
FIFA gave Trump a bullshit peace prize and as a thank you he’s going to launch a war against his World Cup co-host and make the games unplayable
New: Trump admin officials tell Zeteo that Trump is “very interested” in secret plans drawn up last year to send US Special Forces into Mexico.
One official even says Trump recently asked for updates on preparations for a possible operation.
One official even says Trump recently asked for updates on preparations for a possible operation.
After Trump’s Venezuela Invasion, Mexico Could Be Next
Officials tell Zeteo that Trump remains ‘very interested’ in the idea of sending US Special Forces into Mexico, as the president threatens Colombia and Cuba, too.
zeteo.com
January 4, 2026 at 7:18 PM
FIFA gave Trump a bullshit peace prize and as a thank you he’s going to launch a war against his World Cup co-host and make the games unplayable
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
For all that the media has spent years freaking out about what social media does to our brains, I don’t understand why there appears to be little effort to grapple with the fact that these chatbots are, for some not insignificant portion of the population, literally psychosis machines
He put his complete trust in a chat bot that turned him into a savage murderer.
Disturbing Messages Show ChatGPT Encouraging a Murder, Lawsuit Alleges
A lawsuit against OpenAI reveals the chilling ChatGPT messages that drove a middle aged man to kill his 83-year-old mother.
trib.al
January 4, 2026 at 1:32 PM
For all that the media has spent years freaking out about what social media does to our brains, I don’t understand why there appears to be little effort to grapple with the fact that these chatbots are, for some not insignificant portion of the population, literally psychosis machines
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
It’s exhausting and boring, but because the wilful misunderstanders will be out in force some of us are going to have to spend a lot of time saying:
No, we do not like or support Maduro.
We like and support the rule of law.
No, we do not like or support Maduro.
We like and support the rule of law.
Maduro is a brutal and oppressive dictator of Venezuela.
Trump has no legitimate legal basis for military action against Venezuela under United States or international law.
Both of those facts are simultaneously true.
Trump has no legitimate legal basis for military action against Venezuela under United States or international law.
Both of those facts are simultaneously true.
January 3, 2026 at 10:07 AM
It’s exhausting and boring, but because the wilful misunderstanders will be out in force some of us are going to have to spend a lot of time saying:
No, we do not like or support Maduro.
We like and support the rule of law.
No, we do not like or support Maduro.
We like and support the rule of law.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
100% seriously, European leaders and Commission officials should plan on the basis that the US might do this to them too, about Greenland, about tech regulation, about “Christian values”, about “free speech”, whatever.
January 3, 2026 at 9:59 AM
100% seriously, European leaders and Commission officials should plan on the basis that the US might do this to them too, about Greenland, about tech regulation, about “Christian values”, about “free speech”, whatever.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
The US has begun an unprovoked and unjustified war for conquest and oil, as President Trump has himself made clear on several occasions. The Americans also now claim to have abducted a foreign leader in his own country. This imperialist aggression must be condemned.
January 3, 2026 at 10:08 AM
The US has begun an unprovoked and unjustified war for conquest and oil, as President Trump has himself made clear on several occasions. The Americans also now claim to have abducted a foreign leader in his own country. This imperialist aggression must be condemned.
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
/“It’s a horrible, horrible waste,” said Wilson, the director of campaign group Oilfield Witness, pointing to Grok-generated images of Nazi Mickey Mouse as an example of what fossil gas was being burned to produce. “What useful purpose does this serve?”' 1/2
‘Just an unbelievable amount of pollution’: how big a threat is AI to the climate?
Defenders say AI can do good to fight the climate crisis. But spiralling energy and water costs leave experts worried
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 8:57 AM
/“It’s a horrible, horrible waste,” said Wilson, the director of campaign group Oilfield Witness, pointing to Grok-generated images of Nazi Mickey Mouse as an example of what fossil gas was being burned to produce. “What useful purpose does this serve?”' 1/2
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
“Newsroom morale soared” ftw
December 19, 2025 at 10:21 AM
“Newsroom morale soared” ftw
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
Hard no to this: French publisher Harlequin has told translators that their work will now be done by AI. They can ‘revise’ AI translations at much lower rate. It’s a subsidiary of Harper Collins so treat this as a test for rollout elsewhere
"Bradage de la traduction, plan social invisible : Harlequin passe à l’IA"
Faites tourner, parce qu'il va falloir se battre encore plus. :/
#traduction #IA #Harlequin #ATLF
Faites tourner, parce qu'il va falloir se battre encore plus. :/
#traduction #IA #Harlequin #ATLF
December 18, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Hard no to this: French publisher Harlequin has told translators that their work will now be done by AI. They can ‘revise’ AI translations at much lower rate. It’s a subsidiary of Harper Collins so treat this as a test for rollout elsewhere
Reposted by Aaron Ackerley
The standard of political reporting in this country is *appalling* because of this. Actual politics- the relationships between state, labour, capital etc - are entirely invisible to these people. They can only see it in terms of "my team good".
It’s frustrating seeing journalists reporting on the Unison General Secretary election primarily in party political instead of trade union terms. Andrea Egan won promising to raise the expectations of public sector workers. That could well have a big industrial relations impact very soon.
December 17, 2025 at 11:14 AM
The standard of political reporting in this country is *appalling* because of this. Actual politics- the relationships between state, labour, capital etc - are entirely invisible to these people. They can only see it in terms of "my team good".