Axel Bruns

@snurb.info

11K followers 2.1K following 3.2K posts

Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor at @qutdmrc, researching news, politics, partisanship, polarisation in digital and social media.

He/his | Progressive Rock | Hannover 96 🖤🤍💚 | 🇦🇺🇩🇪🇪🇺

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Axel Bruns is a German-Australian media scholar. He is a Professor of Communication and Media Studies at QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. .. more

Communication & Media Studies 59%

Political science 14%

Posts Replies Media Videos

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Axel Bruns @snurb.info · Apr 25

💡 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/...

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

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 21h

Maybe some lovely Spanish electronica to follow that ? Better cover too. #Prog

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 22h

Definitely one of those albums where the truly awful cover does not represent the quality of the music within… #Prog

Cover of _True_, by Jon Anderson & the Band Geeks.

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 1d

Well that's interesting: there IS going to be another ARC Laureate round after all, when we thought that scheme had ended. Good luck to everyone now scrambling to put a new application together by 30 April 2026.

www.arc.gov.au/fundi...

Reposted by Axel Bruns, Timothy Graham

David Milner @davemilbo.bsky.social · 2d

"Yes, a coup is happening in the United States", says Jsaon Stanley, the former Yale professor of fascism who left for Canada. Worthwhile interview here, even if it's a bit "no shit" after recent events.

I study fascism. I’ve already fled America.

On this week’s “More To The Story,” former Yale philosophy professor Jason Stanley explains his recent move to Canada and calls the Trump administration’s takeover of the US government a “coup.”

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Axel Bruns

Lore Hayek @lorehayek.at · 2d

Peak journalism.

Reposted by Axel Bruns

Katrin Weller @kwelle.bsky.social · 2d

This Friday 16.1. - you can still sign up to join us for this talk by Julian Jaursch / Bundesnetzagentur #dataaccess #digitalservicesact #dsa #article40

Katrin Weller @kwelle.bsky.social · 22d

January 16, 2026: Julian Jaursch from the German Digital Service Coordinator @bnetza.bsky.social will introduce the EU's #DSA Data Access Portal during the series "Show & Tell – Social Media Data in Research Practice". Register here: events.gwdg.de/event/1259/ #digitalservicesact #platformdata

Applications via the EU's DSA Data Access Portal: An Introduction

Researchers can submit requests to the EU's "Data Access Portal" to obtain non-public data from very large online platforms in certain cases. What information do researchers need to provide and what d...

events.gwdg.de

Reposted by Axel Bruns

Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 2d

At this point the Adelaide Writers' Week will just be Madeleine King reading out the Woodside Annual Report to Bob Carr and Greg Sheridan with David Speers running around the stage reading his beat poem about the glory of centrism.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Federal minister backs axing of Palestinian author from writers' festival

Resources Minister Madeleine King's comments come amid a growing furore over the decision that has led several board members to resign and dozens of writers to withdraw from the Adelaide literary even...

www.abc.net.au

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

You get an increasingly strong sense that Trump is urgently trying to settle some scores before his obvious dementia gets any worse and he begins to forget who his enemies are.

Justice department opens investigation into Jerome Powell as Trump ramps up campaign against Federal Reserve

Fed chair accuses DoJ of threatening criminal charges over building renovation projects because central bank defied Trump’s interest rate demands

www.theguardian.com

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

Perfeckly normel countray. 🤪

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 2d

BREAKING: The Department of Justice subpoenas the Federal Reserve, says Chair Jerome Powell.

Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony about the Fed’s building renovations.

bit.ly

Reposted by Axel Bruns

Rocketpilot 🇵🇸 @rocketpilot.xyz · 2d

This caused a brain itch I had to scratch

The billionaires' hierarchy of needs: from the bottom, making money, immunity from prosecution, hebephillia, no one on social media can shout at me, bullying employees.

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

More principled stance than the UK's. Or Canada's. Or Australia's. Or ...

Kriszta Satori @fulelo.bsky.social · 2d

#BBCNews - Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk's Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Grok AI: Malaysia and Indonesia block X chatbot over sexually explicit deepfakes

Sexualised images of real people generated by Grok have circulated on X in recent weeks.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Axel Bruns, Helmut Reisen, Robert Wolfe , and 3 more Axel Bruns, Helmut Reisen, Robert Wolfe, John Hogan, Maria Abreu, Antonio Fatás

Robert Armstrong @robarmstrong.bsky.social · 2d

The Fed and markets have a very serious problem
ft.com/content/21b5...

Reposted by Axel Bruns

Kriszta Satori @fulelo.bsky.social · 2d

#BBCNews - Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk's Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Grok AI: Malaysia and Indonesia block X chatbot over sexually explicit deepfakes

Sexualised images of real people generated by Grok have circulated on X in recent weeks.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Axel Bruns

Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 2d

"If we silence voices we don’t agree with, we’re doing the work of extremists for them"
Peter Greste

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If we silence voices we don’t agree with, we’re doing the work of extremists for them | Peter Greste

I do not need to share Randa Abdel-Fattah’s views to believe that removing her is wrong. This is why I’ve withdrawn from Adelaide writers’ week

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Anna O. Law, Elizabeth Saunders , and 29 more Stephen M. Walt, Anna O. Law, Elizabeth Saunders, Axel Bruns, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Joshua S. Weitz, Steve Peers, David Rothschild, Julian Webb, Guy Grossman, Joseph Schafer, Brian Kelly, Edgar Morgenroth, Kevin Carey, Trevon D. Logan, Laurent Pech, Silvia Secchi, Ben Tonra, Brian Keegan, Jason Lyall, Mark Rice, Daniel Kuehn, Brenda Cossman, Stuart White, Prokla Redaktion, Meredith Farkas, Stephen A. Meserve, David S. Tanenhaus, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Farah Mendlesohn, David Darmofal

Charlie Thomas @cthomasjamh.bsky.social · 2d

This is the sort of statement that was expected from every university president and law firm partner over the last year. That those statements weren’t made played a huge part in where we are now and people will remember.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 2d

Jerome Powell: "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."

Reposted by Axel Bruns

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 2d

BREAKING: The Department of Justice subpoenas the Federal Reserve, says Chair Jerome Powell.

Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment

bit.ly

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Stephen M. Walt, Kori Schake , and 88 more Anne Applebaum, Stephen M. Walt, Kori Schake, Claudia Sahm, Edward Witten, Daniela Gabor, Christian Odendahl, Nandita Sharma, Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Menzie Chinn, Axel Bruns, Will Jennings, Peter Thorne, Brendan Nyhan, David Dunning, Jennifer A. Richeson, Patrick A. Jansen, Alf Norkko, Joshua S. Weitz, Robert W. Wallace, Andrew Watt, David H. Kaye, Michael A. Clemens, David Feldman, Jonathan Wolff, Kevin Milligan, Rosemary A. Joyce, Richard Ashby Wilson, Caroline Krafft, Monika Schnitzer, David Rothschild, Guy Grossman, Ryan Enos, Shelly Lundberg, Ameet Sarpatwari, Michael Kevane, Iikka Korhonen, Trevon D. Logan, Laurent Pech, Robert C. Richards, Charles W. Smith, Lindsay M. Tedds, David L. Ortega, Rebecca Tushnet, David R. Miller, Silvia Secchi, Aaron Sojourner, Michael Zimmer, Holger Nehring, Gerald Friedman, Nazita Lajevardi, Scott A. Imberman, Robert B. Reich, Henry Farrell, Michael D. McDonald, Dean Eckles, Julia M. Wright, Brian Keegan, William Myers, Maria Abreu, Michael Müller, Michael Jones‐Correa, Kate Starbird, Shannon W. Anderson, Lisa Diedrich, Daniel Kuehn, Susan Strasser, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, Alessandro Rigolon, Marcus Credé, Hisham Zerriffi, Simon Lester, Jay Shambaugh, Matthew Bodie, Tim Stephens, Peter Gratton, Aviel Roshwald, Martha Starr, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Farah Mendlesohn, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Michael Evans, Ryan Calo, Timothy D. McBride, Ryan Goodman, Jeroen Van Bouwel, Suzanne Mettler, Kimberly A. Clausing, Stuart Shapiro, David Darmofal, Peter Jacobs

Federal Reserve @federalreserve.gov · 2d

Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...

Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

YouTube video by Federal Reserve

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Axel Bruns

Timothy Graham @timothyjgraham.bsky.social · 2d

New paper out with @snurb.info and Simon Copland, where we analyse Sky News Australia through the lens of network propaganda.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

And then there are a few new encyclopaedia entries and an article in Italian about destructive polarisation (soon also to come out in English). More about those in the blog post: snurb.info/node/3532.

Cover of _Democrazie ai margini: Disinformazione e manipolazione dell’opinione pubblica nell’era digitale_, edited by Giovanni Boccia Artieri.

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

With colleagues in Hamburg and Bremen, we also examined how Australian and German media cover mainstream and fringe climate protests. There are some clear but different divergences here too (original presentation here: snurb.info/node/3048).

Slide from "Polarised Media Framing of Climate Protests: A Comparative Mixed-Methods Analysis of Australia and Germany" (ICA 2024).

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

My colleague Katharina Esau led our analysis of media polarisation in Australia during the Voice to Parliament referendum, where we found some complex and diverging patterns (original presentation here: snurb.info/node/3297).

Slide from "Mapping News Media Polarisation during the Voice to Parliament Referendum" (AANZCA 2024).

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

With Simon Copland and Timothy Graham, I analysed the dissemination of Sky News Australia videos on Facebook, and found three distinct but overlapping audiences, in Australia and overseas (original presentation here: snurb.info/node/2626).

Axel Bruns @snurb.info · 2d

Catching up with recent work, I've now updated my blog with my latest scholarly publications - including a whopping 3️⃣ new articles in @mediaintaus.bsky.social by my colleagues and me. These follow up on work presented at #AoIR2021, #AANZCA2024, and #ICA2024.