Jessica Bateman
@jessicabateman.bsky.social
800 followers 720 following 140 posts
Berlin-based journalist focused on gender, faith and extremism | Bylines Wash Post, BBC, Guardian, 1843 etc | European Press Prize winner 2025 | Covering Germany for Hyphen
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jessicabateman.bsky.social
Hi BlueSky! Looking forward to re-building a community here.

I'm a journalist based in Berlin after several years in Athens, Greece. I specialise in longform storytelling on gender, faith and extremism.

My website is jessicabatemanjournalist.com - and here are some of my favourite recent pieces 🧵
Jessica Bateman
jessicabatemanjournalist.com
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Just full-on conspiracy theory mongering now. News outlets should treat this the same as engaging in Covid-19 or Climate Change denial.
Reposted by Jessica Bateman
trillingual.bsky.social
If you want to know what the UK government's position is on its obligations under the Genocide Convention in relation to its support for Israel, here's what it argued in court this summer.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Always had a soft spot for these guys, they seem fun ngl
unicornriot.bsky.social
8 Years Ago Today: Fans of Insane Clown Posse converged at the Lincoln Memorial in DC for the 'Juggalo March on Washington', demanding an end to the criminalization of their community and lifestyle due to the FBI classifying them a "hybrid gang":
Reposted by Jessica Bateman
jessicabateman.bsky.social
A must-read here
samirashackle.bsky.social
“What we are seeing is not about having a bad economy. It is the result of a year in which neither the government nor the opposition have been willing to draw red lines.” Excellent piece by @stephenkb.bsky.social on.ft.com/4pq7NHo
Starmer and Badenoch are handling the far-right march all wrong
A look back to the days of Enoch Powell suggests a better model
on.ft.com
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Not going to read the piece but I'm sure that if they break down exactly what they mean by "the state of the country" we will find many of their beliefs are in fact racist
Reposted by Jessica Bateman
scriblit.bsky.social
Good of the telegraph to remind us that as well as racist coked up men with prior convictions for dv, the racist march led by a racist that descended into racist violence also included some racists who shop at oliver bonas & think running the church fete tombola makes them nice people
natacha.bsky.social
No.

You say you were whatever you like but you are racists.
The Celegraph
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We marched through London against mass migration. We're no racists
People at Saturday's 'Unite the Kingdom' rally say the majority of attendees were peaceful protesters worried about the state of the country
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# Gift this article free
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Reposted by Jessica Bateman
jessicabateman.bsky.social
This week many British parents found themselves being educated by their kids on who Kirk was. Debates about him popped up in unusual places, from local Facebook groups to Football Twitter.

I took at look at how the commentator amassed his surprising UK following:
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Turning Point Failed in the UK. Charlie Kirk Didn’t.
The late conservative activist has amassed a surprising following across the Atlantic.
www.politico.com
jessicabateman.bsky.social
This is an excellent analysis, and I highly recommend everyone reads this before jumping to any further conclusions!!
mikesenters.bsky.social
I wrote for @msnbc.com about what the engravings on the shell casings of Kirk’s shooter represent and where the references originated. Given what we know so far, they suggest a young man who had his brain fried by the irony poisoned, anti-social nature of certain aspects of online culture. /1
Opinion | What the shell casings in the assassination of Charlie Kirk do – and don't – tell us
There have been a string of shootings in the past year where the performance of online culture played a key role.
www.msnbc.com
jessicabateman.bsky.social
His Oxbridge debates - which university unions hoped would help make the institutions more relevant to young people - are some of the most popular, and have spawned two separate clip ecosystems: one of him "owning" liberals, and one of him "getting owned" by them.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
His following has been all the more surprising to some given that his college campus organisation Turning Point completely flopped when it tried launching at UK universities in 2019. But several years later, he won a new audience when clips of his debates started going viral on TikTok.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
This week many British parents found themselves being educated by their kids on who Kirk was. Debates about him popped up in unusual places, from local Facebook groups to Football Twitter.

I took at look at how the commentator amassed his surprising UK following:
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Turning Point Failed in the UK. Charlie Kirk Didn’t.
The late conservative activist has amassed a surprising following across the Atlantic.
www.politico.com
jessicabateman.bsky.social
@karenroberts.bsky.social Hey! I saw your post about your 17-year-old knowing about Charlie Kirk. I'm researching an article about his unexpected reach with young Brits on social media (I didn't know about this until today either). Would you be interested in having a quick chat with me?
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Hey Jules! I'm researching an article about Charlie Kirk's viral reach with teens in the UK (I only just found out about this today too!) I would love to have a quick chat with you if you have time?
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Hey Tony! I'm researching an article about Charlie Kirk's unexpected virality in the UK (I only became aware of it today too!) I would love to have a chat with you about this!
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Look, it is precisely because Kirk and others like him have/ had such little compassion for others that I choose to live my life differently. I try to maintain a basic level of empathy for every other human, because I do not want to be like those who don't. Compassion ≠ condoning.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
It's surprising to learn how many right-leaning Brits were following or at least aware of Charlie Kirk on social media. There are posts mourning him in my hometown Facebook group, and even a "Love Island Memes" group.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
I feel terrible for Kirk's children who will grow up knowing a video of their father's brutal death is all over the Internet. Compassion is not a finite resource and we all have the ability to try extend it to every single other human, even if they have said or done things we find abhorrent.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Saw an Insta advert saying Yarvin is "going head to head" with Alastair Campbell at this festival. I get that some people think it's smart to expose Yarvin's ideas through "debate", but this frames him as a legitimate intellectual when he's literally a blogger writing erotic fanfic for fascist CEOs
simonfrcox.bsky.social
Why are Brian Cox, Alasdair Campbell, Mary Trump, Ash Sarkar and Terry Eagleton apparently sharing a platform with open fascist and racist Curtis Yarvin?
huwcdavies.bsky.social
Wondering if Curtis Yarvin speaking at a middle class festival in London with a host of mainstream figures is some kind of joke.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
I just found this woman's real-life daughter is the new editor of Vogue and my mind is melting. Like did they do this on purpose or
jessicabateman.bsky.social
I've been thinking about this a lot recently – why is it that the more activists and (some) journalists have worked to try and show the reality that people facing asylum face, the coarser and more uncaring our political discourse seems to become?
lorenzopiccoli.bsky.social
Ten years ago, the world saw the image of Alan Kurdi lying lifeless on a Turkish beach after his family’s boat sank on the way to Greece.

That photo shocked millions, but was also an example that the more we face extreme suffering, the faster we grow numb to it.
jessicabateman.bsky.social
Some truly heartbreaking stories in here illustrating the tragedies that this policy will lead to
nicolakellywrites.bsky.social
They tried students and they tried care workers, but that wasn't enough. Now they're coming for families.

My impassioned thoughts on today's sickening family reunion announcement.

open.substack.com/pub/notanoth...
Now they're coming after families
If today’s announcement felt like another crossing of the Rubicon, that's because it is.
open.substack.com