Anita Gohdes
LightNews LightNews
banner
argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes
@argohdes.bsky.social
4.3K followers 610 following 250 posts

Studying repression, the internet, and contentious politics. Professor @thehertieschool. Consultant @hrdag. she/her.

Wrote a book on repression in the digital age: https://www.anitagohdes.net/book.html

Videos

Anita Gohdes is a German academic and political scientist working at the intersection of international security and technology. She is currently Professor of International and Cyber Security at the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany. .. more

Political science 43%
Sociology 29%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Aug 29
Happy to share this paper with @zacharyst.bsky.social
that was just published in the AJPS.

We study how civilian behavior on social media shifts during war, focusing on one of the most horrific episodes of the Syrian conflict - the siege of Aleppo: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Abstract of paper by Anita Gohdes and Zachary Steinert Threlkeld reading: Recent research emphasizes social media’s potential for citizens to express shared grievances. In active conflict, however, social media posts indicating political loyalties can pose severe risks to civilians. We develop a theory that explains how civilians modify their online behavior as part of efforts to improve their security during conflict. After major changes in territorial control, civilians should be more likely to post positive content, and more content that supports the winning side. We study social media behavior during and after the siege of Aleppo in November 2016. We match Aleppo-based Twitter users with users from other parts of Syria and use large language models to analyze changes in online behavior after the regime’s retaking of the city. Results show that users in Aleppo post more positive and pro-Assad content, but only when self-disclosing their location.

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · 19h
So excited to see this published!
More than a decade ago I got to share an office with @ascharpf.bsky.social (at Lehrstuhl @sabinecarey.bsky.social 😎) & over the past years Christian's office has been down the hall @hertiesecurity.bsky.social - now their joint work is published in book form 🥳👏🏻✨
ascharpf.bsky.social Adam Scharpf @ascharpf.bsky.social · 22h
Russia, Venezuela, Iran, China, the Sahel region, the United States ...

Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups?

Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com:

tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Brendan Nyhan, Jason Lyall , and 3 more

zeitzoff.bsky.social
Thomas Zeitzoff @zeitzoff.bsky.social · 20h
My book—No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis—comes out today!

It's the result of 3+ years of research and 150+ interviews with 100+ activists and experts.
Picture of No Option But Sabotage

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Carl Henrik Knutsen, Marc Debus , and 3 more

ascharpf.bsky.social
Adam Scharpf @ascharpf.bsky.social · 22h
Russia, Venezuela, Iran, China, the Sahel region, the United States ...

Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups?

Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com:

tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf

Reposted by Erica Chenoweth, Tarik Abou‐Chadi

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · 11d
If you are an advanced PhD student or PostDoc working on AI and global politics/tech/authoritarianism come spend 1-6 months in Berlin this year with @scripts-berlin.eu! We have some funding for you and will help w/ visa and other moving issues.
Info here: www.scripts-berlin.eu/about-us/job...

Reposted by Nicholas A. Christakis, Joshua A. Tucker, Dave O’Brien , and 9 more

karstendonnay.bsky.social
Karsten Donnay @karstendonnay.bsky.social · 16d
🚨Job alert 🚨

I have an opening for a postdoc in my team at @ipz.bsky.social in the area of digital democracy starting Sep 1, 2026.

If you are working on the impact of the digital transformation on politics, please apply by 🗓️ Mar 1, 2026.

📤 Please share widely!

www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/ueber-uns...
Offene Stellen / Open Positions
www.ipz.uzh.ch

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

ioda.live
IODA (Internet Outage Detection and Analysis) @ioda.live · 26d
The IODA team completed a comparative analysis of the ongoing Internet shutdown in Iran to shutdowns during Bloody November in 2019, Women Life Freedom Movement in 2022, and the Israel-Iran War in 2025. Please read and reach out with any questions.

ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/reports/a-co...
A Comparative Look at Internet Shutdowns in Iran: 2019, 2022, 2025, and 2026
On January 8th, 2026, the Iranian regime implemented an Internet shutdown amidst national protests. This shutdown is the most sophisticated and most severe in Iran’s history. IODA's longitudinal view ...
ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu

Reposted by Anna O. Law, David R. Miller, Anita Gohdes

elizabethbitmeehan.com
Elizabeth (Bit) Meehan, PhD @elizabethbitmeehan.com · 27d
omg the original post, not as the printout version (for ease of reading)
Paul Musgrave twitter post on January 12, 2017 Around the department: Americanists: how bad can it be really? Comparativists: dictatorship, purges International relations: nuclear war Follow up post Americanists: haha but seriously IR and comparative: who is joking

Reposted by Joanna Bryson

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Jan 14
I always learn so much from reading @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social 's work - and you should too. Here she writes about AI and disinformation surrounding the protests and atrocities in Iran: www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
How Doubt Became a Weapon in Iran
AI manipulation, and the very suspicion of it, serves those who have the most to hide.
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, James Connelly, Tarik Abou‐Chadi

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Jan 14
Uganda has shut down the internet again - ahead of tomorrow's elections. This is bad news for those monitoring the elections, it is bad news for the spread of rumours, and it is bad news for holding perpetrators of election-related violence accountable.
netblocks.org NetBlocks @netblocks.org · Jan 14
ICYMI: #Uganda is currently in the midst of a widespread internet shutdown as telecoms regulator UCC imposes a blackout in advance of tomorrow's general election.

Far from halting misinformation, the measure is likely to limit transparency and increase the risk of vote fraud 🗳️
Graph from NetBlocks showing network connectivity in Uganda from January 7, 2025, to January 14, 2025. The y-axis represents normalized connectivity, ranging from 0% to 100%, and the x-axis represents the dates. The green line representing Uganda's connectivity remains normal most of the time period, with a sharp drop on the evening of January 13. The drop in connectivity aligns with upcoming general elections and a shutdown order issued by the Uganda Communications Commission. The minimum and current connectivity levels are indicated as 20% and 20%, respectively. The chart has a dark background with a red circle highlighting the decline, followed by an period of diminished connectivity that is ongoing.

Reposted by James Connelly, Anita Gohdes

netblocks.org
NetBlocks @netblocks.org · Jan 14
ICYMI: #Uganda is currently in the midst of a widespread internet shutdown as telecoms regulator UCC imposes a blackout in advance of tomorrow's general election.

Far from halting misinformation, the measure is likely to limit transparency and increase the risk of vote fraud 🗳️
Graph from NetBlocks showing network connectivity in Uganda from January 7, 2025, to January 14, 2025. The y-axis represents normalized connectivity, ranging from 0% to 100%, and the x-axis represents the dates. The green line representing Uganda's connectivity remains normal most of the time period, with a sharp drop on the evening of January 13. The drop in connectivity aligns with upcoming general elections and a shutdown order issued by the Uganda Communications Commission. The minimum and current connectivity levels are indicated as 20% and 20%, respectively. The chart has a dark background with a red circle highlighting the decline, followed by an period of diminished connectivity that is ongoing.

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Jan 14
Amidst mass killings and internet shutdowns the Iranian regime has also found a way to jam access to Starlink:

restofworld.org/2026/iran-st...
@restofworld.org
Starlink terminals rely on GPS signals to locate themselves and connect to satellites. By disrupting these signals, Iranian authorities can render the devices unreliable without touching the satellites themselves. When Russia tried similar jamming in Ukraine, SpaceX responded within hours with software updates that restored service. So far, no such fix has arrived for Iran. SpaceX has not commented on the disruption.

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

accessnow.org
Access Now @accessnow.org · Jan 13
After taking to the streets, people in Iran have now been disconnected from the rest of the world for more than five days. That’s +120 hours in the dark!

Alongside +19 orgs, we demand that authorities immediately restore internet access and uphold rights.

www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
Access Now - #KeepItOn: Iran plunged into digital darkness, concealing human rights abuses
join the international community, including the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, in calling on Iran to immediately restore internet and mobile communications and in demanding accou...
www.accessnow.org

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

bildoperationen.bsky.social
Roland Meyer @bildoperationen.bsky.social · Jan 10
«For the far right, what’s more important is an aesthetics of domination. The Trump administration is flooding our senses without regard for coherence, in the hope we exhaust ourselves trying to make sense of something that’s completely contradictory or willfully absurd.» #MemeFascism
The End Goal of Trump’s Cringey, Nonsensical Videos
Trump’s use of the antiwar song “Fortunate Son” in a video of the military raid in Venezuela was no mistake. It’s part of a very deliberate far-right aesthetic.
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

netblocks.org
NetBlocks @netblocks.org · Jan 9
⚠️ Update: It has now been 24 hours since #Iran implemented a nationwide internet shutdown, with connectivity flatlining at 1% of ordinary levels. The ongoing digital blackout violates the fundamental rights and liberties of Iranians while masking regime violence ⏱
Graph from NetBlocks showing network connectivity in Iran from January 5, 2025, to January 9, 2025. The y-axis represents normalized connectivity, ranging from 0% to 100%, and the x-axis represents the dates. The green line representing Iran's connectivity remains lower than normal most of the time period due to protests, with a sharp drop on the evening of January 8. The drop in connectivity aligns with protests across the nation. The minimum and current connectivity levels are indicated as 1% and 1%, respectively. The chart has a dark background with a red horizontal arrow labeled 'SHUTDOWN', indicates the period of disruption.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Joshua S. Weitz, Scott L. Greer , and 13 more

wired.com
WIRED @wired.com · Jan 8
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.

If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Jan 6
Fantastic opportunity to join @felixhaass.bsky.social for a PhD position on contentious politics, political violence, or authoritarian politics at HU Berlin: www.hu-berlin.de/universitaet...
Research fellow (m/f/d) in the field of “contentious politics/political violence/autocratic politics” - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
www.hu-berlin.de

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Jan 5
As of January '26 I've joined @psrm.bsky.social as an AE, focusing on IR and conflict submissions - I'm excited to join the team and to receive your manuscripts!

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Jan 5
After more than 5 years I'm stepping down from being an Associate Editor at the wonderful @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social. It's been an honour and I'm delighted to stay on as an Editorial Board member 🫶🏻!

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Paul Davies, Alan Richardson , and 6 more

zoandbehold.bsky.social
Rep. Zooey Zephyr @zoandbehold.bsky.social · Dec 28
"And I never say no"

We need to have a serious talk about the way "AI companion" apps not only prey on the vulnerable, but are priming their users to ignore consent and to conflate love with control.

We need AI regulations across so many sectors, but this area is particularly horrifying.

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

lorenzofb.bsky.social
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai @lorenzofb.bsky.social · Dec 27
NEW: Meet the folks at AccessNow's Digital Security Helpline, who have been investigating government spyware for more than a decade, helping journalists and dissidents all over the world.

I spoke to Hassen Selmi, who heads the incident response team, to learn how his team fights spyware abuses.
Meet the team that hunts government spyware
For years, Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline has been aiding journalists and dissidents who have been targeted with government spyware. This is how they operate.
techcrunch.com

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

apsgworkshop.bsky.social
Authoritarian Political Systems Group @apsgworkshop.bsky.social · Dec 19
RA Position!
@ozlemtuncel.bsky.social and @osamet.bsky.social are looking for support for a project on opposition coalitions in autocracies. If you are
- interested in opposition politics and electoral dynamics, and
- familiar with data collection
apply by Dec 31: gsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Dec 18
Speaking of wild stories

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Dec 18
Never tire of saying how much I appreciate the reporting @404media.co does. Yet another wild story.
josephcox.bsky.social Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · Dec 17
This is a wild hack. a16z gave a million dollars to startup called Doublespeed. They use a phone farm to flood social media with AI generated influencers and ads. A hacker remotely broke into the phone farm, unmasking the AI influencers/fake accounts, gave us the data www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Hack Reveals the a16z-Backed Phone Farm Flooding TikTok With AI Influencers
A hacker gained control of a 1,100 mobile phone farm powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Fabrizio Coticchia, Anita Gohdes

nicoblar.bsky.social
nicoblar.bsky.social @nicoblar.bsky.social · Dec 17
#ESSC2026 | Save the date! Thrilled to announce that the European Security Studies Conference is taking place on 11–12 June 2026 at @stockholm-uni.bsky.social The conference is jointly organised by COST Action NetSec, @eissnetwork.bsky.social , & @stockholm-uni.bsky.social eiss-europa.com/2026.html
EISS - 2026 Conference
eiss-europa.com

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

mjgault.bsky.social
Matthew Gault @mjgault.bsky.social · Dec 17
background is here. it's a wild one if you haven't seen it yet
'Unauthorized' Edit to Ukraine's Frontline Maps Point to Polymarket's War Betting
It looks like someone invented a fake Russia advance in Ukraine to manipulate online gambling markets.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Anne Norton, Brian Keegan, Peter Jacobsen , and 1 more

josephcox.bsky.social
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · Dec 17
This is a wild hack. a16z gave a million dollars to startup called Doublespeed. They use a phone farm to flood social media with AI generated influencers and ads. A hacker remotely broke into the phone farm, unmasking the AI influencers/fake accounts, gave us the data www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Hack Reveals the a16z-Backed Phone Farm Flooding TikTok With AI Influencers
A hacker gained control of a 1,100 mobile phone farm powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok.
www.404media.co

argohdes.bsky.social
Anita Gohdes @argohdes.bsky.social · Dec 10
Thank you Federica!

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

airwars.bsky.social
Airwars @airwars.bsky.social · Dec 10
What made the US-backed aid system in Gaza so deadly?

Our new short film reconstructs two Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distributions, showing how the militarised aid system resulted in death and injury.

Watch the full video here:

ghf.airwars.org
Surviving The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - An Airwars Investigation
For five months, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was the main distributor of food in Gaza. Backed by the United States and Israel, more than 1,000 people were allegedly killed seeking aid at it...
ghf.airwars.org

Reposted by Anita Gohdes

hertiesecurity.bsky.social
Centre for International Security - Hertie School @hertiesecurity.bsky.social · Dec 10
On Human Rights Day, we highlight "The Politics of Human Rights" by faculty member @argohdes.bsky.social, Sabine Carey & Mark Gibney. The textbook offers a fresh, empirical take on human dignity & global responsibility.
Interview with Anita: lnkd.in/dTA9TzZ6
Order your copy here: lnkd.in/dHAfrey3

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Brendan Nyhan, Hugo Mercier , and 3 more

andyguess.com
andyguess @andyguess.com · Dec 9
The Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow to work with an interdisciplinary team (me, @bstewart.bsky.social, and @manoelhortaribeiro.bsky.social).

Link: puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/app...

Please apply by THIS SUNDAY, Dec. 14!
We are seeking a Fellow to lead cutting-edge research on short-form video content and its societal implications. Bridging the gap between computer vision, causal inference, and computational social science, the Fellow will focus on the large-scale analysis of TikTok data (using an existing, massive dataset). The position involves developing novel multimodal methods to understand how short-form algorithmic content shapes public opinion, political polarization, and online culture. This is a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of the field, combining rigorous social science research designs with state-of-the-art computational techniques.