Tanya Lokot

Cover Image for: Risky Research: An AoIR Guide to Researcher Protection and Safety AoIR Risky Research Working Group Contributors: Alice Marwick, Dafna Kaufman, Jacob Smith, Patricia Aufderheide, Jessica Beyer, Emma L. Briant, Coppélie Cocq, Laura Dilley, Sam DiBella, Radhika Gajjala, Kamile Grusauskaite, Alex D. Ketchum, Zelly Martin, Janice Metzger, Erin McInerney, Rachel Moran, John McNutt, Suay Melisa Oezkula, Victoria O’Meara, Riccardo Nanni, Carolina Parreiras, Katy Pearce, Ryan Payne, Meredith Pruden, Christian Sandvig, Caighlan Smith, Sam Srauy, Zeerak Talat, Leonie Tanczer, Robert Tynes, Antonia Vaughan, Shenja van der Graaf, Courtney Vowles, Michele White.

We are delighted to share the publication of Risky Research: An AoIR Guide to Researcher Protection and Safety, the culmination of over two years of collaborative effort by the AoIR Risky Research Working Group.

aoir.org/riskyresearc...

Growing pains: The lives of Ukrainian teenagers at war The Kyiv Independent asked teens in Ukraine aged between 14 and 17 about their experiences during Russia's war.

Russia's war has struck Ukrainian teens in a uniquely cruel way — already navigating the turbulence of adolescence, they also face the emotional and psychological scars the war continues to leave on them.

5 killed, 53 injured in Ukraine as Russia strikes hospitals, residential areas across country Russian forces killed at least five people and injured at least 53, including four children, across Ukrainian regions over the past day, regional authorities reported on July 15.

⚡️ 5 killed, 53 injured in Ukraine as Russia strikes hospitals, residential areas across country.

Russian forces killed at least five people and injured at least 53, including four children, across Ukrainian regions over the past day, regional authorities reported on July 15.

'Ukrainians have been stripped of illusion of control' — Filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai on Russia's war, cinema and reclaiming the narrative When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, film director Kateryna Gornostai found herself questioning whether she would continue working. "I had this feeling that life — at least profes...

The Kyiv Independent interviewed film director Kateryna Gornostai, whose latest documentary, "Timestamp," was screened at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival — making her the first Ukrainian director in nearly three decades to compete for the Golden Bear.

Meta and Russian Yandex engaged in unprecedented internet tracking practices, likely illegal with EU data protection law. localmess.github.io

Work in this area by F Musiani, K Ermoshina, L DeNardis, K Easterling, F Daucé, R Deibert, and many others is vital.

The investigation’s discovery is also another argument for a greater focus on the materiality of technology in platform governance and digital authoritarianism research to highlight the central role of infrastructures in transnational information flows and points of control.

Is Telegram a “harbinger of freedom”? The performance, practices, and perception of platforms as political actors in authoritarian states This paper examines the practices, performance, and perceptions of the messaging platform Telegram as an actor in the 2020 Belarus protests, using publicly available data from Telegram’s public sta...

I and @mariellew.bsky.social discuss this in our OA article on Telegram as a political actor and coin the concept of ‘platform actorness’ doi.org/10.1080/1060...

Telegram, the FSB, and the Man in the Middle The technical infrastructure that underpins Telegram is controlled by a man whose companies have collaborated with Russian intelligence services. An investigation by IStories

This IStories investigation further supports our argument w/ @mariellew.bsky.social that for Telegram, the performative mythology of the platform is a key part of its reputation & perception management arsenal. storage.googleapis.com/istories/en/...

Explainer | The 16 legislative changes that have shaped Georgia’s authoritarian slide The sheer number of laws passed in recent months have overwhelmed observers and media outlets alike.

📌 Explainer: The 16 legislative changes that have shaped Georgia’s authoritarian slide

oc-media.org/explainer-th...

London Ukrainian Review The London Ukrainian Review is an open-access journal that tackles global challenges through the prism of Ukraine while adopting a distinctly internationalist perspective on the Ukrainian past and pre...

A special issue on childhood in wartime published by London Ukrainian Review. Open Access.

“Through reportage, conversations, history, and art, it highlights the experiences of young people growing up in Ukraine today”

www.londonukrainianreview.org

Some people can’t get it through their thick heads that Pu doesn’t want to compromise and he’s the obstacle to any midway solution actually taking place, not Ukraine’s rightful desire for a just peace.

In the age of AI, is doubt becoming a political strategy? As references to AI become more common in political discourse, what happens when democratic governments begin using it to question the authenticity of real events?

For @news.rte.ie, I reflect on how AI is increasingly not only framed as a potential threat, but used by governments strategically to reassert a sense of control in moments of uncertainty. Such reactions can undermine already fragile public trust www.rte.ie/news/primeti... @dublincityuni.bsky.social

They talked about the evolution of the global politics of internet freedom and the forces behind this. Specifically, they addressed how the ‘norm cluster’ of #DigitalSovereignty replaced that of #InternetFreedom leading to a potential ‘hollowing out’ of the latter.

On today’s second panel DCN member @mariellew.bsky.social and Dublin City University’s Tetyana Lokot presented their work on ‘The Politics of Global Norm Contestation’.

If your work falls at the intersection of technology and human rights, we’re looking for you for Bread&Net 2025.

Submit a workshop, talk, or presentation before July 15, 2025.

Want to know more? Visit breadandnet.secure-platform.com/site/ or reach out on info@breadandnet.org.

Alignment Anxieties & Persuasion Problems - Enough About AI Dónal and Ciarán continue the 2025 season with a second quarterly update that looks at some recent themes in AI development. They're pondering doom again, as we increasingly grapple with the evidence ...

New @enoughaboutai.com episode with @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social out, covering alignment issues, the problems of powerful AI persuasiveness, AI in academia, and letting superintelligence out of the box. Find it wherever you get podcasts, or on the site here:
podcast.enoughaboutai.com/2421061/epis...

DCU's Dr Dónal Mulligan @donalmulligan.com and Ciarán O'Connor @ciaranoconnor.bsky.social discuss key issues related to AI and academia in the latest episode of their podcast 'Enough About AI'. You can listen to the full episode here: launch.dcu.ie/3YHqlHk

I'm greatly looking forward to moderating the CERiM CEEhub launch event next week, with a stellar line up of speakers:
@petoandrea.bsky.social, @tanyalokot.bsky.social, Adriana Iamnitchi and @gnoutcheva.bsky.social.

Don't miss it and register today. See you in Maastricht!

#EUsky #IRsky #commsky

Den stora älgvandringen I flera tusen år har älgarna vandrat samma leder för att komma till sommarens rika betesmarker. For several thousand years the moose have walked the same path to get to the rich pastures of summer. F...

Take a break from the news and watch Swedish moose spring migration live instead !

YouTube video by WIRED How Governments Spy On Protestors—And How To Avoid It | Incognito Mode | WIRED

Here's a helpful guide on how to protect your identity and stay safe at protests, hosted by WIRED's @couts.bsky.social and @lhn.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL34...

Our #GVInsights panel has concluded, but you can watch the recording on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCIF...
Follow our panelists @tanyalokot.bsky.social @samantaazpurua.bsky.social @lokman.org @arzugeybulla.bsky.social and support our vital work if you can!

Unfreedom Monitor · Global Voices The Unfreedom Monitor is a project to analyze, document, and report on the growing use of digital communications technology to advance authoritarian governance around the world.

For more on technology and authoritarian tactics, take a look at our Unfreedom Monitor reporting: globalvoices.org/special/unfr...

YouTube video by Global Voices Voices from the Future: Stories of authoritarianism

"Voices from the Future" starting now with @arzugeybulla.bsky.social @tanyalokot.bsky.social @lokman.org @samantaazpurua.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCIF...

I think I'm hearing the sound of a thousand digital rights and privacy advocates collectively letting out a pained groan.

Russian attacks kill 40, injure 141 across Ukraine in deadliest day in months The worst toll came from a Russian ballistic missile strike on Sumy, where 34 people were killed, including two children, and at least 117 were injured, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service.

⚡️ Russian attacks kill 40, injure 141 across Ukraine in deadliest day in months.

The worst death toll resulted from a Russian missile strike on Sumy, where 34 people were killed, including two children, and at least 117 were injured, authorities said.

LIVE on April 16: Voices from the Future On this episode of Global Voices Insights, panelists from Hong Kong, Azerbaijan, Venezuela and Ukraine share their experiences of life under authoritarianism, offering a timely dose of reality and sol...

come hang out with us, and let's chat all things authoritarianism.

with @samantaazpurua.bsky.social @tanyalokot.bsky.social @arzugeybulla.bsky.social @older.bsky.social

globalvoices.org/2025/04/11/l...

5 killed, 23 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day Ukrainian air defenses shot down 85 of the 145 attack and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Forty-nine drones disappeared from radars without causing damage, according...

⚡️ 5 killed, 23 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 85 of the 145 attack and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported.

Forty-nine drones disappeared from radars without causing damage, according to the statement.

67 clergy members killed since 2022 — Kyiv decries Russia's religious persecution in occupied territories Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on April 10 again denounced the religious persecution carried out by Russia in the occupied Ukrainian territories, accusing Moscow of killing dozens of clergy members and da...

⚡️ 67 clergy members killed since 2022 — Kyiv decries Russia's religious persecution in occupied territories.

Special issue call for papers is now open based on our #ECPRJS24 workshop #GoodCitizenship norms with Frank Reichert @nsiklodi.bsky.social Murray Print for @ispp-pops.bsky.social

Please see details below and share widely!

Deadline 15 July 25