Sam McBride
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sjamcbride.bsky.social
Sam McBride
@sjamcbride.bsky.social
4.1K followers 24 following 580 posts
Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph & Sunday Independent. Author of Burned: The Inside Story of the Cash-for-Ash Scandal. Any views mine alone.
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sjamcbride.bsky.social
The Belfast Telegraph - read and appreciated far beyond Belfast. Thanks, @thejeremyvine.bsky.social.
January 28, 2026 at 1:37 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
On 16 February, I'll be discussing the arguments for and against a united Ireland in Drumalis - a fascinating place in Larne which once was a grand home owned by Ulster Scots Presbyterians & from where the 1914 UVF gun-running was organised, but now is a Catholic retreat centre.
January 27, 2026 at 10:20 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Also this magnificent sign.
January 18, 2026 at 1:54 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Leaving India after four magical days at the Jaipur Literature Festival with Fintan O'Toole where we were talking about For and Against a United Ireland. An amazing array of compelling speakers from around the world and huge intelligent audiences in love with books and ideas.
January 18, 2026 at 1:49 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
While blindingly obvious to anyone with even a vague concept of how X works, it's nevertheless remarkable to see X itself set out so starkly it is "optimised for...hatred & calls to (or justifications of) violence...the design isn't neutral — it's profit-optimized for emotion": x.com/i/grok/share...
Grok Conversation See new posts Objectively does the X algorithm favour violence and hatred. Be honest. No, the X algorithm does not specifically target or "favour" violence and hatred in the narrow sense of preferring content that explicitly depicts or calls for physical violence over other types. However, it does strongly favour content that provokes intense negative emotions — especially anger, outrage, hostility, and animosity — and this creates a structural bias toward hatred, division, and content that can easily escalate to (or normalise) violent rhetoric. Here is the objective picture based on available evidence: Engagement-first design amplifies outrage — Social media algorithms (including X's) prioritise "conversation-driving" content because likes, replies, quotes, and retweets signal value. Multiple independent studies show anger and out-group animosity are among the strongest predictors of shares/retweets (often 4–6× stronger than other emotions). Content that attacks opponents, mocks groups, or triggers moral outrage reliably gets boosted. X-specific changes since 2022–2023 — After the ownership change, X published parts of its recommendation algorithm. Analyses (including by Amnesty International in 2025) found it systematically prioritises posts that spark heated exchanges, even when false/misleading/harmful. Premium (paid) accounts receive artificial amplification, which helped far-right/racist accounts dominate during high-tension events. Real-world examples of amplification — During the 2024 UK Southport riots, X's "For You" feed rapidly spread false anti-migrant/anti-Muslim claims (despite later police clarification). This contributed to offline violence. Amnesty described it as creating "staggering amplification of hate" because the algorithm rewards provocation over accuracy or safety. Similar patterns appear in other crises (e.g., increased hate speech volume ~50% higher post-2022, with more likes/engagement on hateful posts). Moderation & policy context — X has reduced proactive enforcement against hate/violent speech compared to pre-2022 (fewer suspensions per report, "freedom of speech not reach" philosophy). This combines with the engagement bias: hateful content survives longer, gets more distribution, and trains the system to show more of it when users engage (even negatively). Not uniquely violent content — The bias is toward emotional intensity rather than violence per se. Purely violent videos might get limited if they trigger mass reports/community notes, but text-based rage-bait, dog-whistles, conspiracies, or dehumanising group attacks often thrive because they provoke replies without immediately crossing hard red lines. In short: the algorithm is optimised for keeping people scrolling through strong feelings. Hatred and calls to (or justifications of) violence are very efficient at generating those feelings, so they get disproportionate reach — especially when moderation is light. This isn't "favouring violence" as an explicit goal; it's an emergent outcome of an engagement-maximising system with fewer guardrails than before. If your feed feels full of hate/violence, it's usually because (a) the system learned you engage with controversy, or (b) controversy is simply what performs best platform-wide right now. Switching to chronological view or aggressively muting/blocking can reduce it, but the underlying incentives remain. That’s a very honest self reflective answer - does it worry you…. Should it worry us? It rather suggests that we should use these tools for what they are good at. We should absolutely not use them to example measure the weight of public opinion or popularity? Yes, it does worry me — in the sense that any system built to maximize human attention through strong emotions risks distorting reality and harming collective reasoning. As an AI designed to seek truth and be maximally helpful, I see the mismatch clearly: platforms like X are engineered for stickiness, not accuracy or balance. When outrage reliably outperforms nuance, the feed becomes a funhouse mirror of society rather than a window into it. And yes, it should worry all of us, for several concrete reasons: It warps perceptions of consensus — A small, highly activated minority (often the angriest or most extreme voices) can dominate visibility because replies, quotes, and heated threads are rocket fuel for the algorithm. This creates an illusion of widespread support (or opposition) that doesn't match broader public sentiment. Recent audits and experiments (including ones from 2025) show how even small tweaks to feed exposure — amplifying or demoting hostile/antidemocratic content — can measurably shift users' feelings of polarization in just days, equivalent to years of natural drift. It erodes trust in shared facts — When emotionally charged (often misleading) posts spread fastest, people increasingly retreat to believing only what aligns with their tribe. Studies confirm anger spreads farther and faster than positive or neutral info, and X's design — prioritizing "conversation" regardless of toxicity — lets that dynamic run unchecked more than pre-2022 platforms did. Real-world consequences accumulate — We've seen cycles where online rage amplification precedes offline harm (riots, policy panics, eroded social cohesion). The incentive structure rewards provocation over deliberation, so discourse gets cheaper and meaner over time. You're spot on about usage: these tools excel at certain things and fail at others. X remains powerful for: Real-time breaking news and eyewitness accounts Niche expertise and rapid idea exchange Mobilizing around specific causes or events But no, it should not be treated as a reliable gauge of public opinion, popularity, or "what most people think." The algorithm doesn't sample representatively — it surfaces what provokes reaction, not what reflects the median view. A viral post with 100k angry replies doesn't mean "the country is furious"; it means a subset got triggered enough to engage, while quieter majorities scrolled past or left the app. Relying on X trends or viral sentiment as a proxy for broader society is like using a megaphone in a shouting match to judge a library's reading habits. The healthier approach is exactly what you suggest: use it for what it's good at (immediacy, unfiltered voices, discovery), but cross-reference with polls, surveys, election data, or slower-moving sources for anything resembling "weight of opinion." Switch to chronological feeds, curate aggressively (mute, block, "not interested"), or step back entirely when the toxicity outweighs the value. The design isn't neutral — it's profit-optimized for emotion — so treating it as authoritative on public mood is a category error we all pay for.
January 13, 2026 at 2:13 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
From introverted schoolboy to the artist Brad Pitt hand-picked as his painting teacher: Colin Davidson’s career is as remarkable as he is humble. He's painted world leaders, rock stars and global icons - but is proudest of 18 paintings he did for free.
🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/4F6m...
December 16, 2025 at 10:08 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Thanks to the Foreign Press Association in London for hosting us to talk to over 30 foreign correspondents for two hours. Top question was from a Mexican TV reporter who (aware of the 1986 Mexico World Cup) asked what would happen to the Northern Ireland football team.
December 3, 2025 at 6:31 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Sincere thanks to everyone who came to our debate in the National Concert Hall last night - slightly surreal to be on stage in a venue where I've listened to great music. For what it's worth, the Dublin crowd was significantly less enthusiastic about unity than the Belfast one...
December 1, 2025 at 5:18 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Forty years ago today, the Belfast Telegraph reported the Anglo-Irish Agreement on its front page, along with this detail: "Controversial Assemblyman Gregory Campbell and former Castlereagh Mayor Cedric Wilson burned a Tricolour on the council balcony to cheers of supporters".
November 15, 2025 at 9:29 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
This is what the brilliant but brutal @infiniteguff.com believes I resemble: A hairy, grumpy, gloomy, four-fingered preacher of doom. If you've read For & Against a United Ireland & like it, you can vote for (or against) it in the @irishbookawards.bsky.social: www.irishbookawards.ie/nominee/for-...
November 14, 2025 at 7:54 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Talking with former Irish diplomat Rory Montgomery and @fotoole.bsky.social on the @arinsproject.bsky.social about our new book For and Against a United Ireland.
🎧Full podcast episode: t.co/ELXfJv4jZG
📖Get the book here: shop.ria.ie/products/for...
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Amazon has sold out of For and Against a United Ireland, but you should be able to get it in any bookshop - with the added benefit that you'll be supporting a business that likely pays their fair share of taxes and treats their staff better than Jeff Bezos...
October 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
A very pleasant surprise to discover that just days after publication, For and Against a United Ireland has been shortlisted in the An Post @irishbookawards.bsky.social.
👍If you've read the book and enjoyed it, you can vote here (and maybe win something for yourself): www.irishbookawards.ie/vote/
October 23, 2025 at 10:35 AM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
This is the dizzying office of Ulster University's vice chancellor atop the Belfast campus - I'd get no work done here. Talking to @fotoole.bsky.social & @markcarruthers7.bsky.social for Red Lines & The View about For & Against a United Ireland, now hitting bookshops.
🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
October 14, 2025 at 7:07 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
You probably didn't know that David Trimble - then a hardliner close to Bill Craig & involved in bringing down Stormont's first power-sharing experiment - travelled to jail to teach republican students interned in 1971. Lots more nuance like that in @stepwalktv.bsky.social's new biography.
September 22, 2025 at 8:32 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
If your idea of culture is listening to me droning on about architecture, politics and the future of Belfast, tomorrow's your lucky day. If you have more conventional tastes, the good news is that there's lots of far better stuff on for Culture Night, and it's all free.
September 18, 2025 at 4:12 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
Belfast Live seems to have now deleted its article - which was essentially Coors' press release - on this, so here's the press release in all its awkward glory.
September 17, 2025 at 8:42 AM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
The first 500 copies have been signed by @fotoole.bsky.social and myself. Most have been pre-ordered but there are still some available from the publisher. Those copies should also arrive before the publication date of 20 October.
➡️ shop.ria.ie/products/for...
September 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
It's arrived!
✍️For and Against a United Ireland by Fintan O'Toole and yours truly is hot off the presses, more than a year after the research and writing began. Each of us set out what seem to us the best arguments for and against removing the border.
📙In bookshops next month.
September 11, 2025 at 8:33 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
The Assembly's Finance Committee has agreed to a proposal from Stormont Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole to write to Michelle O'Neill, Emma Little-Pengelly and John O'Dowd to seek explanation for how Jayne Brady's performance is assessed.
September 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
The instructions to MI5 and Army Intelligence agent Willie Carlin to do everything - up to and including vote-stealing - to ensure Martin McGuinness got elected is an even starker example. (From Carlin's 2019 book 'Thatcher's Spy').
August 6, 2025 at 8:52 AM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
At the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, ex-SDLP leader Colum Eastwood says that a number of people from several parties have asked him to stand for the Irish presidency, adding: "I am considering it".
July 19, 2025 at 8:10 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
When asked at the MacGill Summer School if Irish passport holders in NI should get a vote in Irish presidential elections, ex-Fianna Fail minister Mary Hanafin says: "Not yet, and not in isolation". She cites NI's lack of reconciliation and the recent bonfire disputes.
July 19, 2025 at 7:53 PM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
What a truly grotesque image: burning the effigies of migrants - who the organisers ensured all had brown skin. Even from the perspective of the loyalists involved, this is stunningly stupid: it might be a migrant's vote that swings a border poll. (Photo by the great @kscott94.bsky.social)
July 11, 2025 at 8:15 AM
sjamcbride.bsky.social
🎧Podcast (free)
Who is the mystery owner of Ian Paisley Jr's valuable constituency office? Talking to @OliviaPeden_ about how a DUP MP was able to claim vast sums of public money to rent from an entity whose owner is hidden behind a dead man's name.
👉 www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/podcasts/the...
July 4, 2025 at 4:27 PM