In the interests of a free and fair general election I am calling for Zack's mesmerising eyes to be blanked out at the next live leaders debate
Researching antifeminism, conspiracy theories and the far right. PhD from UEA, former postdoc on Everything is Connected project. UK correspondent for QAA Podcast + MAN CLAN and writer of Vaccine: The Human Story
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In the interests of a free and fair general election I am calling for Zack's mesmerising eyes to be blanked out at the next live leaders debate
That's a suspiciously large majority. Are we absolutely *sure* hypnosis isn't real
“Mommy, why do you care more about that stupid shed than my recital?” Dramatic pause. Even more dramatic pause. “To you, it might just be a stupid shed. To me, it’s shedding light on the darkest corners of the internet.” Deep, gravelly movie trailer voice: “Annie Kelly is … Shed of State.”
Who's going to be the first Labour MP to get baited into saying they'd join an asylum hotel protest themselves if they weren't otherwise engaged
Kissing my children on the head, gently tucking them in, before entering my Podcasting Shed
'86% of [voters] among the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars backed the resolution declaring: “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the [UN] Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)”.'
I'm visiting glasgow this weekend, whats the name of this place please 🙏
If you're getting wound up by British food discourse, why not take a brief break from scrolling and enjoy this picture of my baby eating fish and chips on the beach
Ohh this makes a lot of sense
I turn on my TV and a TV presenter is asking a Govt minister why they are talking about rolling out free childcare when the big issue is asylum hotels. This is objectively insane.
there's a powerful moment of human connection I feel when I learn about a big mountain and I find out the name translates to "big mountain"
![Video Games Out of Contex... @indiegam... • 10h Undertale [screenshot that says Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong!] ... Jack @jack-of-shadows.bsky.social So, thousands of Russians wishing to wipe out all the Ukrainians, and making this wish come real right now, are right, I suppose? August 30, 2025 at 3:40 AM](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:g2p3bnbzcvcbohfpvjxfazqv/bafkreiajcgifhnjo5ghz7sdnrgdl4xyzvfzfyhlww6xpt4kve6nfzxwine@jpeg "Click to view full size")
At least some are! Not to plug my own work but I did a segment for QAA about it m.soundcloud.com/qanonanonymo...
*A conversation about this article, that should say.
Had a conversation with my husband last night and came to the conclusion that the super religious parents telling their children that ChatGPT is a literal demon with malign intentions and is never to be trusted might actually be getting this one right
Yeah she's real, I've come across her before
So undeniably poor taste that enough of her own side managed to shame her into deleting
Agreed it's not enough on its own - it's why KS' "far right thugs" last summer felt so lackluster without any more positive argument. But also think "we're not extremists, just ordinary people who've been pushed too far" is a v useful myth that much of the media are far too happy to indulge them in
I.e by emphasising the role of women and mothers in their groups, or their multi-ethnic identity. Isn't that evidence that there *is* some residual power in those terms, even if you're sadly probably right that the stigma's not as strong as it used to be?
Thanks for your work in organising a counterprotest! It's so important to show these groups they're outmatched in terms of people power. Just from what ive observed, they still seem incredibly sensitive to the "far right" and "fascist" labels, and they spend a lot of time trying to 'disprove' them
These are just ordinary brits, with their life-sized cardboard cutouts of politicians that we all have, and their Freikorps that they've founded. It could be any one of us.
Good thing I’m not a vainglorious narcissist who’s fixation on digital symbols and their rapid circulation has driven them to cruel unthinking nihilism like that shooter
(two children are murdered) perfect opportunity for me to serve face! Prayers🙏
The video is just her wiggling her camera around while she pouts and plays with her hair under this text, these trad girls are demons
True, but given how many posh people there are in public life in this country, it does feel weird there aren't any Tarquins that I'm aware of..
I am at least aware of some Actually Existing Jolyons, which probably makes it a more accurate stereotype
Yes I've spotted a lot more Hugos around! I always notice them because it's my cats name and i always forget humans can be called that too
Well you don't get posher than that I guess..
Something i think about occasionally is how "Tarquin" is the go-to "posh kid name" in British English, but it's been that since I was a child. Surely, given naming trends evolve, the posh kids are called something else now. (And I've actually never met a Tarquin, so maybe they weren't even then?)
Wrote about how, against the odds, Nick Fuentes has continued to endure as a figure on the right www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
A former CDC staffer adds: “This is the work of a death cult.”
See, everyone's taking the mick out of the picture but it actually makes sense to me. He's meant to be a faker right? Not unlike the fabled "girl gamer" who actually only plays candy crush..
You can hear me speak about my book "QAnon: From Conspiracy Theory to New Religious Movement" on this weeks QAnon Anonymous Podcast. Big thank you to @travisview.bsky.social and @jakerockatansky.bsky.social for having me on. Discount code for my book in the Ep on.soundcloud.com/wb5ifyquFfq0...
In a shocking twist, sitting indoors and staring at your phone all day seems to be the only truly authentic act
I think all the data shows that men are reading less and less every year, so at this point i have to conclude that the "the lit bro" archetype is functioning as something of a folk devil
Just chilling to read the interviewee start off nuanced and thoughtful and then slowly degenerate into the crudest, most cynical evasions and deflections, displaying an utterly dehumanising attitude towards the people in Gaza. The power of nationalism to corrupt the soul is a truly frightening thing
All historians should read this jaw dropping interview as a case study in moral and political decrepitude. Evidence if any more were needed that the accrual of massive amounts of evidence about the past does not automatically engender a critical reflection on the present.
This is a brilliant explainer on anti-vaccine junk science laundered through peer-reviewed journals. Many of the same tactics appear in other dubious scientific papers.
Family in fear after Tommy Robinson shares video of black man with white granddaughters. Exclusive: Olajuwon Ayeni racially abused and falsely labelled a paedophile as far right weaponises clip of family in park www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
There was a great tweet on the old site that said it was the visual equivalent of getting cornered by someone working their way up to a bigoted rant and slowly backing away
It was @annieknk.bsky.social on Manclan who first made me aware of the intersectional nature of bigotry. Accepting hierarchical discrimination in one instance makes you more likely to accept it in others. It's not a coincidence the terfs are zionists, it's a natural consequence of them choosing hate
me, if i was advising labour on their comms
Listened to a QAA podcast where it was mentioned that there’s a conspiracy theory that the world is made out of flesh and guys do videos looking at mountains and pointing at different strata like it’s marbling on a steak and damn it was nice to hear about a not explicitly racist conspiracy
Especially bc it's such a small percentage of the population as a whole!
The crime in London discourse seems to be following a trend I first noticed in the manosphere, where "personal experience" translates to "I have watched lots of shortform videos" except it's someone getting into a fistfight on the tube instead of a drunk student saying she only dates millionaires
Like all good jokes on Bluesky, the replies are a mix of Americans who are unhinged, Americans who strongly disapprove of any displays of humour and Americans for whom a sense of humour is proof of being Actually Evil.
Maybe I'm just in a metropolitan elite bubble but I didn't realise anyone in this country actually liked Tom Skinner, thought he was just putting on a show for very online rightwing Americans who can't see how unconvincing the whole geezer act is
The QAA podcast on Candace Owens is so good I’m crying www.patreon.com/posts/becomi...
I actually did learn about the British empire in primary school! But it seems a lot of people's experiences of history education consists of Romans, Tudors, the World Wars and not much in between
Similarly, if "LARPs of dead cultures" was uttered by a leftist hauntology nerd I'd be like "yeah"
The special rich kid version of history where nothing bad happens
Right, they're scared of the "the left is obsessed with pronouns and not the working man" articles but 2019 showed theyll just ask you a million questions about pronouns then write that anyway
I guess it speaks to my own tribalism that if it were a feminist academic saying "travel is woman-coded now bc countries are no longer real" I'd be like "wow that's so intriguing tell me more 💖" but since it's a twitter blue tick I am calling Human Resources
If you have heterodox moderate non-tribalist centrist friends you've *got* to get them off that site, they have absolutely no antibodies
If we keep throwing out enough "I'm British and think ketchup is too spicy!!!" posts we can prevent this one from ever hitting Bluesky
I also learned about it! But also I think if you moved schools at all you realise how much schools vary in how and when they teach stuff. I studied Macbeth 3 years in a row 😂
Yeah I remember thinking it seemed like a pretty broad statement even for one country!
My fav personal example of this was where a brit (not even me!) said they didn't learn about colonialism in school in a conversation w me and an american popped up like "um 😌 we actually DO learn about colonialism in public school. I guess you guys are both rich!" like those were the only 2 options
Loadbearing tweet
The few times I've used it it's been so offputtingly sycophantic that it makes me feel second-hand embarrassment for being human. Like this is what you think we like?
These are concentration camps.
Baby when left to his own devices keeps making a Stonehenge-like structure out of the empty milk containers in the recycling. Much to consider
Tbf, they are both pretty common! Feels a bit like the poor kid in my primary school called Harry Potter, whose parents when naming him in the early 90s no doubt thought they were making a totally innocuous choice
Oh you think this seems a bit disproportionate? Well what if that little old lady had hijacked a plane, which I'd like to remind you we are arguing is legally the same thing?
If I was defending mass arrests of pensioners for holding a sign, the first thing I'd do is invite a comparison to the IRA
Absolutely heartbreaking to see CDC staffers say they were surprised that the shooting didn’t happen sooner.
r/Food 🔼-5🔽 Hey guys, just getting into food. I've got a budget of $100 dollars--where should I start? eating-forever: Just read the FAQ. And DO NOT buy rice, it's a classic noob-trap.
That bit towards the end of every American high school movie where you just zone out and look to see whether the characters in the audience are smiling or frowning..
Saw the trailer for the new Jordan Peele movie but unfortunately it looks like you might need to know how American football works to understand it
"Cleaning up" is a trope. It's like calling people rats or octopuses. Absolutely no place for it in public life; this MP should be losing the whip.
“AI can’t replicate the human brain” actually that depends on which human brain
British Republicanism has never quite recovered from how dope HRH Charles III's official portrait is.
"Wait, it's all just Gamergate?"
It's such a shame how evil many of these women are bc their posting has been nothing short of phenomenal
I feel similarly with "my kid is such a great excuse not to go to stuff/leave early!" Like I love having a child but how socially unavailable it makes you is easily the worst part for me
The title "homelessness minister" actually never stipulates whether you have to be for or against
Look, all of that might be true, but given how everything turned out, it feels a bit like bullying to keep going in on him like this
Sorry I didn't text back, work* has been crazy haha *Following the right wing girl influencer drama where they all post their engagement rings and call each other whores
Just relistened to @annieknk.bsky.social and QAA on H. Pearl Davis. She's not changed much then?
This is true anarcho-primitivism
kennedy is going to kill a lot of people
2 things: (1) I’m having a baby (!) & (2) you can apply for my mat cover at the Health Foundation! I love working here, it’s a fab job at a fascinating time for UK health policy, fab team, great organisation. Happy to answer any qs! Espec from academics/ #histmed ! lde.tbe.taleo.net/lde01/ats/ca...
Cooper reminds me a bit of Russell Brand in that he has this very empathetic, sincere style of rhetoric that's really out of place in the irony-drenched, trollish popular right, and that difference in tone makes it very easy to miss how right-wing the actual content of what he's saying is
Great journalism about a far-right podcaster who, even after being promoted by Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, still continues to fly under the radar. Convincing evidence here that that's a conscious strategy.
My argument is that content saying the same thing as the article is out there, and our hypothetical 13 year old is either not finding it or isn't interested. My objection is the "nobody has tried this" framing.
We could also look at something like the FreshandFit podcast, which has all sorts of different categories of advice for their audience - Money, Fitness, and Dating. By a mile their most popular content is the episodes where they interview models and influencers so they can degrade and insult them
Progressives are at a disadvantage here, because they actually care about the wellbeing of the women involved. In the field of dating advice thats always going to look like 'scolding' compared to the rights message of "women are to be conquered and dominated and who cares how they feel about it"
No more using that term in the newspaper without disclosing your children's school fees
I'm sick of people with way more money than me accusing me of luxury beliefs!
scientists have been working for years on formulating the text of a social media promo post that would be impossible to ever convert into a single click and they are finally ready to share their findings
not in the works right now, but I'd really like to get back to it at some point!
Interestingly on MAN CLAN we investigated some case studies of redpill influencers who started off sounding a lot more like Ian here before they realised the play. Elliot Hulse used to tell his audience to not be afraid to be vulnerable with a woman and to try embracing their feminine side!
@annieknk.bsky.social knows of what she speaks
I think his take's a bit naive but there's really not anything wrong with the way he looks!
It's not that they're silent, I've read stuff like this a million times. Its just not going to be anywhere near as popular or successful as the stuff which is vitriolic and degrading to women. You can blame the algorithm or men's dark desires, but misogyny is vital to getting anywhere in this field!
Jon Halling 