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Zoë Crowther

@zoecrowther.bsky.social

28K followers 1.7K following 1.3K posts

• political reporter politicshome.bsky.social • “internet shepherd” of Bluesky • covering the politics behind social media, tech & health IG: http://instagram.com/zoe.crowther/ • X: @zoenora6 📍 London via Notts, Newcastle & Bristol

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · Nov 27

To all my new followers here, a short introduction:

I'm a political reporter for @politicshome.bsky.social, covering all things politics and running our Sunday newsletter interviews each week

I'm particularly interested in social media, AI, online safety, mental health & NHS/health and social care

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 19h

Before anyone comes at me for still posting on X...

I report on tech and twitter. So to understand the impact it's having on politics I do have to be there for now

But I try to balance my time across all the major platforms rather than solely relying on X. And I definitely get better pick up here!

Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 19h

Bluesky doesn't offer proper engagement analytics yet so it's hard to compare accurately

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 19h

Side-by-side comparison of the same post on X and Bluesky 👇 X post is doing better, but only because it's been shared by verified users

99% of the time, my tweets on X get basically zero engagement

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 19h

I often cross-post to both Bluesky and X (28k followers here, 17k there)

- posts with links perform better on Bsky
- more consistent engagement on Bsky
- X tweets either do really well or completely flop
- if big/verified accounts retweet you on X, the numbers can still climb higher on there

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 19h

An experiment:

If you see this post, please like it. Am comparing numbers to the other place for a piece.

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Reposted by Zoë Crowther

Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 1d

Say hello to literally the only protesters outside Tory conference this year

Two protesters holding up a sign saying “pedestrianise the M6”

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 1d

🤭

Victoria Coren Mitchell @vcorenmitchell.bsky.social · 1d

Only Connect is on tonight! And, *as far as I know*, all the facts I read out will be correct.

But I guess we’ll soon find out.

8pm, BBC Two

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 1d

My colleague sent me their leaflet 😭 so good

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 1d

Say hello to literally the only protesters outside Tory conference this year

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 1d

Euan Blair’s company responds to #HIGNFY airing the conspiracy theory about them being linked to digital ID 😅

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 2d

Multiverse offers apprenticeships and skills training, it does not develop software

Full story on the spread of the false claim here and the BBC’s apology 👇
www.politicshome.com/news/article...

BBC Apologises For Airing Fake Claim About Digital ID Scheme

The BBC has apologised for airing a false claim about Tony Blair's son's company being awarded a government contract to produce the new mandatory d...

www.politicshome.com

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 2d

For the avoidance of doubt, if you have heard that Euan Blair’s company Multiverse has been awarded a govt contract to deliver the digital ID scheme, this is false.

The govt expects the ID scheme to be developed in house, though it is still in early stages and “no decisions” have been made

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 2d

Yep it’s totally false www.politicshome.com/news/article...

BBC Apologises For Airing Fake Claim About Digital ID Scheme

The BBC has apologised for airing a false claim about Tony Blair's son's company being awarded a government contract to produce the new mandatory d...

www.politicshome.com

Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 2d

Yes it’s been replaced

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 2d

The Euan Blair/digital ID conspiracy theory is not over yet…

After it spread around Labour conference and made it onto the BBC, it’s now spreading around Conservative conference too!

A senior Tory figure repeated it as fact to a lobby colleague last night

Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 4d

Oh my god.

Have I Got News For You just referred to this completely false claim as a fact!!

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Reposted by Zoë Crowther

Tilda Martin @matildamartin.bsky.social · 2d

You can read the full piece on the reality facing Reform-run councils with @zoecrowther.bsky.social below👇

www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Reform's Cost-Cutting Unit Struggles With The Reality Of Local Pressures

After more than 100 days in office, those in charge of Reform-led councils are facing a political reality check in the form of soaring social care ...

www.politicshome.com

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Reposted by Zoë Crowther

Tilda Martin @matildamartin.bsky.social · 2d

In June, my analysis revealed that councils now run by Reform UK spent up to 78% of their service spending on social care and homelessness in 2024, suggesting limited room for further cuts.

www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Reform Will Struggle To Find Much Council Waste To Cut, Analysis Suggests

Councils now run by Reform UK spent up to 78 per cent of their service spending on social care and homelessness last year, analysis shows, suggesti...

www.politicshome.com

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Reposted by Zoë Crowther

Tilda Martin @matildamartin.bsky.social · 2d

Kent County Council raising council tax should come as no surprise

Council leader Kemkaran told me in August: "I would love to say I’ve found a magic way of not putting it up. I can’t say that at the moment”

Reform leader of Staffordshire Cl also hinted that CT may rise by 5%

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Reposted by Zoë Crowther

Victoria Coren Mitchell @vcorenmitchell.bsky.social · 3d

Meanwhile, if you see a clip of me saying the ID card contract has gone to Tony Blair’s son: it hasn’t. That was something I was given to ask about on HIGNFY last night, but turns out to be a false report from the internet. Which is bad news for the fact checkers but good news for social mobility.

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 3d

Did think it was odd that his X earnings just... stopped

Story here: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

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Reposted by Zoë Crowther

Cat Neilan @catneilan.bsky.social · 3d

Exclusive: Nigel Farage has not updated his register since May, despite continuing to present his GB News show, record Cameo videos and being a verified X user

Qus are now being asked about the non-registration of his shareholding in GB parent co All Perspectives

observer.co.uk/news/politic...

‘Nine-jobs Nigel’ Farage denies not declaring extra earni...

Roles outside Parliament make Reform leader the highest-earning MP, but register of interests has not been updated since end of May

observer.co.uk

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 3d

While we're on the topic of misinformation, my colleague @matildamartin.bsky.social wrote this fascinating piece on what can be done to stop AI-generated disinfo

What Can British Politics Do To Stop AI-Generated Disinformation?

New ‘chillingly good’ AI image tools like Google’s Veo 3 are making disinformation easier than ever. Toothless and fractured regulators are struggl...

www.politicshome.com

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 3d

And here are some of the posts that are still up on X, spreading *false* claims to millions of people

This has a direct impact on the public perception of government policy and how people will choose to vote in elections

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 3d

The science committee published a report earlier this year highlighting gaps in the OSA

Chi Onwurah and other MPs want protections against misinformation and hate speech to be strengthened

Full story below 👇
www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Senior Labour MPs Demand Crackdown on X After Elon Musk’s ‘Dangerous’ Rally Comments

Senior Labour MPs are urging the government to take urgent action against hate speech, misinformation and violent rhetoric on Elon Musk’s X platfor...

www.politicshome.com

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 3d

Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee @chionwurah.bsky.social told me last month "it is really urgent that the government take action" to strengthen the Online Safety Act to protect the public against misinformation

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Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 3d

Reminder: these claims originated on social media, including on X but also repeated here on Bluesky

These posts reached millions and are still up and being shared

Misinformation was NOT covered by the Online Safety Act, which came into effect this year. Some MPs want legislation to go further

Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 4d

Oh my god.

Have I Got News For You just referred to this completely false claim as a fact!!

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