Anyone who perceives Kirk as “civil” or as “doing politics the right way” is betraying their comfort with the ablative world Kirk worked so hard to create, secure in their belief that the grinding wheel will never touch *their* skin.

One wonders where that belief arises from.

Such excellent news and what an awesome project 🥳

Additional information about the event can be found on the @ucdischool.bsky.social website. Please also feel free to reach out to me personally if you have any questions about the event or its outcomes.

www.ucd.ie/ics/events/r...

The event was made possible through the support of a @nuimerrionsq.bsky.social Grant for Early Career Academics, a @researchireland.ie ‬Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship, and @ucddigitalpolicy.bsky.social. Significant admin support was provided by @ucdischool.bsky.social.

In summary, the day focused on dynamics of audience engagement with reactionary rhetoric; risks of researching reactionary audiences; impacts of material living conditions; and the imperative to ensure resourcing for the regulatory systems currently in place as well as the need to think beyond them.

Confronting factors such as content monetisation, the role of microinfluencers, and the impacts of political discourse, speakers addressed the need for engaged research focused both on how politics are shaped by material conditions of life and the shared articulation of an effective counterpolitics.

Finally, rounding out the day’s proceedings, the event featured a panel discussion on future directions for the study of reactionary media—chaired by me and with contributions from @profafinlayson.bsky.social‬, @debbieging.bsky.social, and @gavant.bsky.social.

Discussion revealed a gap between formal regulatory processes at EU and local levels (e.g., DSA) and the realities encountered by civil society organisations on the ground. Community stakeholders want to engage more with the systems being put in place, but resourcing issues are creating chokepoints.

Speakers flagged the complex convergence between what is happening online and material conditions offline, rendering the kind of remedies we might explore similarly complex. Social media platforms and their algorithms were seen as central factors in political upheavals that urgently need addressing.

The event also featured a policy roundtable addressing audience engagement with reactionary media as a policy concern—chaired by Eugenia Siapera, with contributions from Eileen Culloty, Thomas Hughes, @gilliankennedy.bsky.social, @edelmcginley.bsky.social, @johnnyryan.bsky.social, and Tanya Warren.

Shane Murphy’s paper called for an audience-centred perspective on online radicalisation, focusing on the example of self-identified incels. His paper highlighted the utility of this approach for the identification of more contextually-grounded preventive interventions attuned to lived experience.

Rhona Jamieson’s paper explored narratives of utopia and apocalypse in the worldbuilding of neoreactionary blogs. Her paper traced the development of NeoReaction from left accelerationism and cybernetic cultural theory, linking the use of narrative to the anticipation of imagined futures.

@simoned.bsky.social's ‬paper addressed the reactionary turn in fandom through a focus on fan reactions to assault allegations levelled at Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter. Through a “believability” lens, she examined how fan loyalty can defy cancellation despite resonance with MeToo narratives.

@joncollins.bsky.social’s paper presented the concept of “decentralised sociality” as a tool for understanding far-right community-building on alt-tech platforms. These space, he argued, offer not just ideological reinforcement but rather social environments shaped by dynamics of decentralisation.

The second paper panel of the day focused on the theme of audiences, texts, and political affects. Chaired by @sarahadunne.bsky.social‬, the panel featured contributions from ‪@joncollins.bsky.social‬, @simoned.bsky.social, Rhona Jamieson, and Shane Murphy.

@kat-hig.bsky.social’s paper addressed how reactionary movements deploy hypothetical futures of injury and oppression to justify violence and regressive cultural agendas. "Victimcould" was outlined as a concept to resist those agendas and formulate a more progressive public vulnerability politics.

@craighaslop.bsky.social’s paper outlined the value of an ecosystems approach to misogyny influencers and the “ideological collabs” in which they engage. He argued for a focus on collaborated content as well as the promotional, financial, and interpersonal connections that characterise this space.