Elizabeth Pearson

A poster advertising a public seminar given by Professor Stephen Farrall.

Tomorrow we will have the first of the Lent Term public seminars, given by Professor @stephenfarrall.bsky.social from the @uniofnottingham.bsky.social, about New Labour's policy on crime and its effect on crime over individuals' life course.

Learn more and book: www.crim.cam.ac.uk/events/explo...

In academia we're slowly realising what journalists and others have long known. That processing and being exposed to harrowing content is traumatising. You can witness it second hand and still be harmed. In many areas we now mitigate and establish training and support. Elsewhere? Let people suffer

US to bankroll far-right think tanks in Europe against digital laws A US state department spokesperson told the FT it was a "lawful use of resources to advance US interests and values abroad."

www.brusselstimes.com/1957195/us-t...

Fabulous! Well done and thank you for sharing!

We argue that effective responses must be holistic: While researchers need to develop individual strategies to prevent or respond to online harm if they become targets, these efforts must be integrated with support from research communities and institutions.

The rise of online harm | 16 | Individual, community, and institutiona In an increasingly polarized and reactionary world, researchers are more and more likely to be the target of online harm. Faced with this reality and

For a reflection by @tamtagelashvili.bsky.social and me on how online harm to researchers can be prevented and mitigated, see this new chapter 👇

‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university? When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...

Excellent article but stark reminder that for all the perceptions of universities as ivory towers for elites, they are actually vital hubs in towns n cities supporting local businesses and providing key services as well as education….

Image text relates to Sociology’s latest special issue, Sociology under Attack The full issue can be found below. https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/SOC/59/6

Have you read Sociology’s latest special issue?

Sociology under Attack looks at the ideological battle about the role of universities and of social sciences. Find articles on authoritarianism, neoliberalism and sociology's role in current political climates.

journals.sagepub.com/toc/SOC/59/6

This is good - impunity will only embolden other ICE agents.

This should be the baseline energy expected from every elected Democrat in the country going forward.

Catch 22: Institutional ethics and researcher welfare within online extremism and terrorism research - Joe Whittaker, Elizabeth Pearson, Ashley A Mattheis, Till Baaken, Sara Zeiger, Farangiz Atamurado... Drawing from interviews with 39 online extremism and terrorism researchers, this article provides an empirical analysis of these researchers’ experiences with i...

My colleagues @joewhittaker.bsky.social @lizzypearson.bsky.social et al have done some great work on researcher welfare in the terrorism/extremism space that probably carries over. This is good as a standalone and also links to other resources. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Thanks for the recommendation JM! The Reassure report is useful too and there is a recent update on far right research from @antoniavaughan.bsky.social plus more at the excellent @vox-pol.bsky.social library!

voxpol.eu/wp-content/u...

Blurred Violence Exploring the Politics of the Misogynist Involuntary Celibate Community

In the week that Adolescence wins at the Golden Globes, misogynist incel expert Dr Elsa Bengtsson Meuller joins the @genderrhul.bsky.social Substack at @royalholloway.bsky.social to contine the discussion on Blurred Violence - & why we can't ignore incels online.

open.substack.com/pub/royalhol...

Trump logic. Because I didn’t get the peace prize, I might as well start a war.
That’ll show them!

Blurred Violence Exploring the Politics of the Misogynist Involuntary Celibate Community

In the week that Adolescence wins at the Golden Globes, misogynist incel expert Dr Elsa Bengtsson Meuller joins the @genderrhul.bsky.social Substack at @royalholloway.bsky.social to contine the discussion on Blurred Violence - & why we can't ignore incels online.

open.substack.com/pub/royalhol...

In Ethical Matters: Green Crime, criminal psychologist Dr Julia Shaw takes us inside some of the most devastating environmental crimes of our time. A powerful talk on accountability, justice, and protecting our planet. 🌍 ⚖️

📅 Sunday 25 January
🕒 3pm
🎟️ https://bit.ly/48PK4ZQ

Farage, who had previously said mass deportations were a "political impossibility", said his party had now come up with "a credible plan, so that we can deport hundreds of thousands of people over the five years of a Reform government". During the news conference, Farage asked Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf whether it was realistic to deport 500,000-600,000 people within the lifetime of the first Parliament under a Reform UK government, to which he replied "totally, yeah".

A sobering thought: were Nigel Farage to become Prime Minister then the terrifying scenes from Minneapolis would become terrifying scenes here.

Keep wondering where that red line is re international/western censure. Not ICE, not AI videos turning Gaza to Las Vegas, not ‘capturing’ a state leader and on and on ..

Terror without ideology? The rise of nihilistic violence – An ISD Investigation ISD examines how online nihilistic communities inspire violence and challenge terrorism frameworks built around ideological threats.

• Terror without ideology? The rise of nihilistic violence – An ISD Investigation www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...
• Online radicalization and the nexus to violence in the US: 2024 year in review www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...

Small changes to ‘for you’ feed on X can rapidly increase political polarisation Study finds that a week of political content can bring about a shift in views that previously would have taken three years

Small changes to ‘for you’ feed on X can rapidly increase political polarisation www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.

Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.

Roblox blocks children from chatting to adult strangers One of the world's most popular gaming platforms has faced criticism for its child safety record.

Roblox, one of the world’s biggest gaming platforms with 80+ million daily users has announced a significant shift in how young people can communicate on the platform.

🔗 tinyurl.com/mr2r3ver

🧵👇

#DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #Roblox #childsafeguarding #digitalsafeguarding #childprotection

CURSED MEDIA PODCAST NETWORK

Can’t recommend @annieknk.bsky.social’s podcast series “Truly Tradly Deeply” enough, what outstanding (empathetic, fair, and *extensive*) reporting on all things right wing tradwifery. The closing section of the latest episode on Motherhood had me tearing up at the end. support: www.cursedmedia.net

Influencer Says 'Alt-Right' Label In Review Defamed Him - Law360 A conservative American author urged a London judge on Wednesday to rule that a review of a Mumford & Sons album in The Observer newspaper had defamed him by referring to him as an "alt-right agit...

This hasn't received much coverage so far, but Andy Ngo has sued @observeruk for an article (a review of a Mumford and Sons album) that called him an "alt-right agitator"
www.law360.com/articles/241...

A photograph of the exterior of the Institute of Criminology, including the 'Criminology' sign above the entrance.

We are excited to announce that a new 2-week Executive Programme in Criminology, Sentencing and Justice is starting in September 2026 and is taking applications.

All senior criminal justice professionals are welcome to apply: www.crim.cam.ac.uk/executive-pr...

‘Working Women’: Gender, Work, and the Politics of Refusal, with Dr Asiya Islam of the LSE. Parchment, Power and Purpose: Writings from the Gender Institute

New interview out now with @asiyaislam.bsky.social for @genderrhul.bsky.social ⬇️

substack.com/home/post/p-...

🚨It’s out! Our new article (co-authored with soon-to-be Dr. Christina Schmid) examines how shifts in gender relations advanced the PYD’s broader politico-military strategy during three phases of insurgent control (2011–2018). It’s open access below!👇🏼

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Very much enjoyed talking to the smart folks @cvtrc.bsky.social. Was grateful to @benoloughlin.bsky.social for chairing & @akilnawan.bsky.social for inviting me.

Was very pleased to get questions from distinguished scholars like @lizzypearson.bsky.social as well several undergrads.