Ehsan Dehghan
@essideh.com
Academic @QUT; Researching various things, all related to antagonism/agonism/discourse online
🌐: https://www.essideh.com
🌐: https://www.essideh.com
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Hey BlueSky, most of you have access to internet connectivity that the people of Iran currently do not. Do me a favour and share this podcast episode from the DMRC Digital Publics group.
We can no longer accept catastrophic silence.
Solidarity means paying attention and creating visibility
We can no longer accept catastrophic silence.
Solidarity means paying attention and creating visibility
The Iranian digital blackout, and how you can help (#37)
Podcast Episode · Read Them Sideways · 02/02/2026 · 53m
podcasts.apple.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:10 PM
Hey BlueSky, most of you have access to internet connectivity that the people of Iran currently do not. Do me a favour and share this podcast episode from the DMRC Digital Publics group.
We can no longer accept catastrophic silence.
Solidarity means paying attention and creating visibility
We can no longer accept catastrophic silence.
Solidarity means paying attention and creating visibility
I had a chat with @pardisyarahmadi.bsky.social about the situation in Iran, and the horrors hidden behind and by the digital blackout. If you'd like to know more about the context and how you can help, have a listen.
The Read Them Sideways podcast is back from summer hiatus! Our first episode of 2026 welcomes Ehsan Dehghan and Pardis Yarahmadi to discuss the ongoing Iranian digital blackout, its implications, and how digital activism can assist. An important listen for your Monday!
The Iranian digital blackout, and how you can help (#37)
Read Them Sideways · Episode
open.spotify.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:10 AM
I had a chat with @pardisyarahmadi.bsky.social about the situation in Iran, and the horrors hidden behind and by the digital blackout. If you'd like to know more about the context and how you can help, have a listen.
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
What is happening in Iran is horrifying. And the silence is deafening. The people of Iran deserve to have their fight and plight seen and heard - at the very least.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Catching up on stories from this week...
"...the killings bore the hallmarks of executions. Medical workers..described receiving bodies with close-range gunshot wounds to the head that had been transferred from hospital morgues while still attached to catheters...
Catching up on stories from this week...
"...the killings bore the hallmarks of executions. Medical workers..described receiving bodies with close-range gunshot wounds to the head that had been transferred from hospital morgues while still attached to catheters...
Disappeared bodies, mass burials and ‘30,000 dead’: what is the truth of Iran’s death toll?
Testimony from medics, morgue and graveyard staff reveals huge state effort to conceal systematic killing of protesters
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 1:40 PM
What is happening in Iran is horrifying. And the silence is deafening. The people of Iran deserve to have their fight and plight seen and heard - at the very least.
The social media age ban started today. Hear more about what it means for the younger ones, where it all started, and where it may take us in the future, from the DMRC director @antmandan.bsky.social:
We have your morning commute listening for Wednesday lined up... 👂🔊
DMRC Director Daniel Angus (@antmandan.bsky.social) spoke with the Read Them Sideways podcast team about the social media ban, the implications, and what to expect in the future.
open.spotify.com/episode/6IES...
DMRC Director Daniel Angus (@antmandan.bsky.social) spoke with the Read Them Sideways podcast team about the social media ban, the implications, and what to expect in the future.
open.spotify.com/episode/6IES...
The social media ban: how we got here and what to expect (#37)
open.spotify.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:29 AM
The social media age ban started today. Hear more about what it means for the younger ones, where it all started, and where it may take us in the future, from the DMRC director @antmandan.bsky.social:
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
PhD researcher Kate FitzGerald has a new article out in The Conversation today looking at generative AI chatbots and conspiracy theories.
AI chatbots are encouraging conspiracy theories – new research
If you interact with chatbots about conspiracy theories, research shows you can can easily fall down the rabbit hole.
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:40 AM
PhD researcher Kate FitzGerald has a new article out in The Conversation today looking at generative AI chatbots and conspiracy theories.
Looking forward to kicking this project off with a dream team!
Congratulations to DMRC investigator Ehsan Dehghan (@essideh.com) and colleagues across Australia for their 2026 Discovery Project! This project examines the public sphere responses and domestic divides caused by foreign conflicts, to find what fosters or hinders deliberation across difference.
November 19, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Looking forward to kicking this project off with a dream team!
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Hey #AoIR2025 participants, the upcoming @qutdmrc.bsky.social Summer School will be highly relevant to many of you:
Join us for the 2026 @qutdmrc.bsky.social Summer School – registration opens next Monday !
October 16, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Hey #AoIR2025 participants, the upcoming @qutdmrc.bsky.social Summer School will be highly relevant to many of you:
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
A highly recommended read: policyreview.info/articles/ana...
Facebook, the EU and Russia’s war: Challenges of moderating authoritarian news
Despite several measures to curb their visibility, this study shows how Facebook mediates predominantly Russian state-aligned news during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine
policyreview.info
September 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
A highly recommended read: policyreview.info/articles/ana...
I had a lot of fun chatting with Klaus (@klaus.bsky.social) about The Discursive-Digital Link. You can listen to the episode on the Read Them Sideways podcast.
After a brief hiatus, the Read Them Sideways podcast is back! In this week's episode, Klaus Groebner (@gklaus.bsky.social) interviews Dr Ehsan Dehghan (@essideh.com) about his new book: The Discursive-Digital Link.
Listen to Klaus and Ehsan chat about the new book below!
Listen to Klaus and Ehsan chat about the new book below!
Episode 32: The Discursive-Digital Link with Ehsan Dehghan
Read Them Sideways · Episode
open.spotify.com
September 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
I had a lot of fun chatting with Klaus (@klaus.bsky.social) about The Discursive-Digital Link. You can listen to the episode on the Read Them Sideways podcast.
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! @mahliann.bsky.social, @marcuscarter.com, and myself have combined our collective brains and written a wide-reaching introduction to the complex and interdisciplinary field of Game Studies in this forthcoming book for Polity. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
September 4, 2025 at 4:59 AM
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! @mahliann.bsky.social, @marcuscarter.com, and myself have combined our collective brains and written a wide-reaching introduction to the complex and interdisciplinary field of Game Studies in this forthcoming book for Polity. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
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)
You can also read the synopsis and the Introduction chapter on my website: essideh.com/ddl/
(thread)
August 12, 2025 at 7:43 AM
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)
You can also read the synopsis and the Introduction chapter on my website: essideh.com/ddl/
(thread)
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
On May 28, I'll be the keynote speaker at the Inaugural conference of Congreso H (Hermes) in Spain, online edition. I'll talk about the reinvention of journalistic verifiability across platforms and AI ecosystems. My first time presenting my research in Spanish! www.congresoh.com/schedule/con...
May 24, 2025 at 11:54 AM
On May 28, I'll be the keynote speaker at the Inaugural conference of Congreso H (Hermes) in Spain, online edition. I'll talk about the reinvention of journalistic verifiability across platforms and AI ecosystems. My first time presenting my research in Spanish! www.congresoh.com/schedule/con...
Brilliant comments/thread! Very well put, Tim
Here's me saying it like it is regarding Elon Musk and X as a propaganda tool that is increasingly biased towards the far right.
The article is in French - in this thread are some auto-translated excerpts from my comments. Shout out to @markandrejevic.bsky.social
www.rtbf.be/article/comm...
The article is in French - in this thread are some auto-translated excerpts from my comments. Shout out to @markandrejevic.bsky.social
www.rtbf.be/article/comm...
Comment Elon Musk utilise son réseau X pour faire monter l'extrême droite en Europe - RTBF Actus
Voici un extrait du compte X (anciennement Twitter) de Dries Van Langenhove, ex-député Vlaams Belang condamné en 2024 à...
www.rtbf.be
May 13, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Brilliant comments/thread! Very well put, Tim
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Made it to my final seminar (thesis pre-defence) today - thanks to the efforts and support of my supervisors, research participants, and many others.
Wonderful to see another excellent @qutdmrc.bsky.social PhD student reach her final seminar milestone – @kkasianenko.bsky.social with a thesis on cosmopolitan responses to the Russian war on Ukraine. 🇺🇦 🫶
May 12, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Made it to my final seminar (thesis pre-defence) today - thanks to the efforts and support of my supervisors, research participants, and many others.
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Wonderful to see another excellent @qutdmrc.bsky.social PhD student reach her final seminar milestone – @kkasianenko.bsky.social with a thesis on cosmopolitan responses to the Russian war on Ukraine. 🇺🇦 🫶
May 12, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Wonderful to see another excellent @qutdmrc.bsky.social PhD student reach her final seminar milestone – @kkasianenko.bsky.social with a thesis on cosmopolitan responses to the Russian war on Ukraine. 🇺🇦 🫶
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Serving on the PhD admission committee this year. We're offering two scholarships in Digital Culture and Communication—one specifically for international candidates.
Know talented candidates passionate about digital culture? Send them our way!
Details: www.uniurb.it/concorsi/9085
Know talented candidates passionate about digital culture? Send them our way!
Details: www.uniurb.it/concorsi/9085
Abbiamo pubblicato un nuovo bando nella sezione PhD - Dottorati di Ricerca / SU. Per informazioni, clicca qui.
Avviso pubblicato il giorno 8/5/2025 con scadenza 10/6/2025
www.uniurb.it
May 9, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Serving on the PhD admission committee this year. We're offering two scholarships in Digital Culture and Communication—one specifically for international candidates.
Know talented candidates passionate about digital culture? Send them our way!
Details: www.uniurb.it/concorsi/9085
Know talented candidates passionate about digital culture? Send them our way!
Details: www.uniurb.it/concorsi/9085
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
"At the root of our problems with social media is... a mistake: that we delegated to profit-seeking businesses what I call “the space of the world”."
Read @couldrynick.bsky.social s piece for @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...
Read @couldrynick.bsky.social s piece for @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
May 8, 2025 at 11:01 AM
"At the root of our problems with social media is... a mistake: that we delegated to profit-seeking businesses what I call “the space of the world”."
Read @couldrynick.bsky.social s piece for @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...
Read @couldrynick.bsky.social s piece for @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
🗽 Big day for new publications: the special issue of _Comunicazione Politica_ that @gboccia.bsky.social, @essideh.com, Laura Iannelli, and I edited has now come out, and includes our introduction on Fringe Democracy and the Platformisation of the Public Sphere.
www.rivisteweb.it/do...
www.rivisteweb.it/do...
![Giovanni Boccia Artieri, Axel Bruns, Ehsan Dehghan, Laura Iannelli
Fringe Democracy and the Platformization of the Public Sphere
ABSTRACT
This article introduces the concept of «fringe democracy» as a multidimensional phenomenon emerging in the contemporary public sphere when alternative digital platforms (spaces/affordances/governance patterns), marginalized actors (groups/practices/ideologies), and heterodox narratives (contents/imaginaries/representations) challenge liberal democratic processes. Fringe democracy is not merely about the rise of non-mainstream platforms but arises from complex interactions between fringe and mainstream platforms, actors, and narratives (as shown by recent changes in mainstream platform moderation practices, which reduce fringe actors’ dependence on alternative, freer spaces). While some marginalized actors may propose heterodox narratives driven by democratic values, fringe democracy functions as a form of pseudo-democracy from the margins, [...]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:svy2kdc6ju4bycwrbw55styz/bafkreib4acqxyaoljl3v7gby2sfi67uhqr2ubv2ylqbtkczlkiog7fqauq@jpeg)
April 30, 2025 at 3:53 AM
🗽 Big day for new publications: the special issue of _Comunicazione Politica_ that @gboccia.bsky.social, @essideh.com, Laura Iannelli, and I edited has now come out, and includes our introduction on Fringe Democracy and the Platformisation of the Public Sphere.
www.rivisteweb.it/do...
www.rivisteweb.it/do...
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Remember when social media was sometimes good, thanks to users and what they built? We do! Please check out this 'minor history' of Twttr and its community-created bots from @domcarlon.bsky.social @kkasianenko.bsky.social & me, out now in Convergence journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The lives and afterlives of community-created bots on Twitter: A minor history - Dominique Carlon, Jean Burgess, Kateryna Kasianenko, 2025
This article presents a minor history of the beneficial community-created bots that once flourished on Twitter, showcasing their important but overlooked role i...
journals.sagepub.com
April 28, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Remember when social media was sometimes good, thanks to users and what they built? We do! Please check out this 'minor history' of Twttr and its community-created bots from @domcarlon.bsky.social @kkasianenko.bsky.social & me, out now in Convergence journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
💡 NEW ARTICLE ALERT 💡
My article with @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleagues @kkasianenko.bsky.social, @vishneww.bsky.social, @essideh.com, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social is now out in Social Media + Society.
We introduce a new analytics method: #PracticeMapping.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
My article with @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleagues @kkasianenko.bsky.social, @vishneww.bsky.social, @essideh.com, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social is now out in Social Media + Society.
We introduce a new analytics method: #PracticeMapping.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Untangling the Furball: A Practice Mapping Approach to the Analysis of Multimodal Interactions in Social Networks - Axel Bruns, Kateryna Kasianenko, Vish Padinjaredath Suresh, Ehsan Dehghan, Laura Vod...
This article introduces the analytical approach of practice mapping, using vector embeddings of network actions and interactions to map commonalities and disjun...
journals.sagepub.com
April 25, 2025 at 3:36 AM
💡 NEW ARTICLE ALERT 💡
My article with @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleagues @kkasianenko.bsky.social, @vishneww.bsky.social, @essideh.com, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social is now out in Social Media + Society.
We introduce a new analytics method: #PracticeMapping.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
My article with @qutdmrc.bsky.social colleagues @kkasianenko.bsky.social, @vishneww.bsky.social, @essideh.com, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social is now out in Social Media + Society.
We introduce a new analytics method: #PracticeMapping.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
"It is not about whether such technology will be good or bad for society... those who control the production and use of information technology will shape it in ways that are good for some and destructive for others" (Mosco, 1982, p. 8)
March 29, 2025 at 8:40 PM
"It is not about whether such technology will be good or bad for society... those who control the production and use of information technology will shape it in ways that are good for some and destructive for others" (Mosco, 1982, p. 8)
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Our @techpolicypress.bsky.social article is based on our recent paper examining Community Notes through the lens of humour. We find that CN enacts a narrow conception of disinformation that is ill-equipped to address hate and harm. eprints.qut.edu.au/254907/1/Mat...
February 4, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Our @techpolicypress.bsky.social article is based on our recent paper examining Community Notes through the lens of humour. We find that CN enacts a narrow conception of disinformation that is ill-equipped to address hate and harm. eprints.qut.edu.au/254907/1/Mat...
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
Our piece on Community Notes and its narrow understanding of the disinformation problem is now live on @techpolicypress.bsky.social. It is based on our paper on the topic, which can be found here: eprints.qut.edu.au/254907/1/Mat...
February 3, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Our piece on Community Notes and its narrow understanding of the disinformation problem is now live on @techpolicypress.bsky.social. It is based on our paper on the topic, which can be found here: eprints.qut.edu.au/254907/1/Mat...
Reposted by Ehsan Dehghan
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/...
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/...
February 3, 2025 at 12:08 AM
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/...
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/...
🚨🚨 New publication with @eddyhurc.bsky.social, @antmandan.bsky.social, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
(thread below)
February 3, 2025 at 6:10 AM
🚨🚨 New publication with @eddyhurc.bsky.social, @antmandan.bsky.social, and @voddenlaura.bsky.social:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
(thread below)
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
(thread below)