Local creative and cultural industries strategies can play a key role in devolution policy, and understanding the differences and nuances of local industrial strategies helps inform policymakers looking at cultural and creative industries-led ‘levelling up’. Ultimately, policy should be shaped by local strategy and regional identity as much as national goals. This blog raises policy […]
Infodemic: tackling conspiracy theories on social media
In February 2020 the Director-General of the World Health Organisation warned that “we’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic,” because “fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.” There has been large debate around ways to control the spread of misinformation and disinformation, especially on […]
Populism, Post-Truth and the Challenges for Journalists: Forging Dialogue Across Battle Lines
By providing the first in-depth study of Russian state broadcaster, RT, the Reframing Russia research project aspires to improve our understanding of the intensifying ‘information war’ between Russia and much of the Western world. In this context, in November 2019, the project team organised an experimental dialogue ‘across battle lines.’ Stephen Hutchings, Vera Tolz and […]
Is Russia Today an attack on democracy?
What to do about Russia’s primary international broadcaster Just before the European elections, EU officials raised concerns about Russian attempts to influence the democratic process, and Russia’s international broadcaster, RT (Russia Today) came under scrutiny for its anti-EU content. But is RT really an attack on democracy? What should be done about it? Reporting findings […]
Media must bear some blame for hostility to Poles
Attacks on Polish families living in the UK are strongly influenced by negative portrayals in the media, argues Alina Rzepnikowska. Polish families in Belfast have suffered a series of attacks in recent week. A row of three Polish families’ homes was spray painted with messages telling the families to leave the city. Elsewhere in Belfast, […]
Expenses Gate III: Hysteria, Humbug and Hypocrisy
Confession: within 30 seconds of hearing about David Willett’s expenses claim for changing light-bulbs I’d cracked the inevitable “how many Conservative MPs does it take to change a light-bulb…” joke to my long-suffering partner.
‘Made to Stick’ – how to make your key messages memorable
This book looks at what makes ideas “stick” – why some ideas spread easily whilst others don’t. Being able to communicate effectively has become increasingly important for public managers in democratic states. “A medium-sized ‘butter’ popcorn at a typical neighborhood movie theatre contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries […]