Mostly migrated to Bluesky now. I’m done with the bots; ragebait; gore, & artificial boosting. Bluesky seems to have the controls we used to have, so please consider it! Link to this politics/work account: https://t.co/3KbDFS8gpJ For my personal acct:

YouGov just found 69% of voters agree with the online safety act. Regardless of my own views on the matter, it’s further proof that Twitter is a completely distorted reality now, because spending any time on “X” would have you believe it’s the least popular policy in history.

Automatic enrolment > lowering the voting age

This is excellent, transformative news. I still remember when I was a 17 year old doing a politics A-level, being told I wasn’t allowed to vote because “young people don’t know enough.” 16 is a very sensible age to enfranchise. It should be the first marker of an adult citizen.

Of course she did…

UPDATE: After I posted this thread, the literal first tweet I saw on my feed was trying to convince me Bigfoot is real. Irony is f*****g dead.

My feed didn’t used to be like this. Twitter was always where I came to see a story first. I didn’t unfollow anyone or change anything. Yes, a few people left the app, but really it’s the algorithm that’s changed. It’s designed for rage and insularity. It’s so so frustrating.

And the ads are different too - adds in recent days have been for scam male supplements, some advocacy group paying to argue against assisted dying, or some weird thing about Nigerian nationals on British Airways… this place used to advertise normal stuff!

The first few tweets were all anti-abortion comments, despite them being the dramatic minority of UK voices (as evidenced by the conscience vote yesterday). After that, it was tweets slagging off Starmer for picking up Trump’s papers at the UN. Not a single thing about Iran. 🙄

I haven’t been using this account as much recently, because when I wanted to read about Syria as the regime collapsed, my feed was all viral nonsense about nothing stories in Westminster. Decided to give it a go again today re: Iran, and do you want to know what I’m seeing?

Thank Christ for that. Almost by definition this is only really done if something devastating has happened. Keep the culture war nonsense in the states, we should be legislating with reason and compassion over here.

Anyone wondering whether Musk left amicably, here’s your answer. Trump has done this specifically to piss off Musk. No other explanation 👀

Keir Starmer launches blistering attack on Nigel Farage - 'not a patriotic bone in his body' https://t.co/6Nr0eM9ZwM

Update: Counter terror police investigating after two further suspicious fires at a second property and a vehicle linked to Keir Starmer. Met Police say they’re keeping an open mind as to whether the two fires - and the one on his North London home - are connected.

12 yıl önce, 12 yıl sonra. 🫵

🚨 BIG NEWS from me. So excited to be appointed as Director at IPPR, one of the most influential Westminster policy factories, at this incredibly important - but treacherous - time for progressive politics. We have a big job to do but the most talented people I know to do it.

"Child sexual exploitation is utterly sickening." Sir Keir Starmer answers a question from Sky's @BethRigby. Latest: https://t.co/xItZsH7tea 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube

This is where I used to come for such news, but there’s been nary a mention, just random rage-bait about stuff barely related to the people I follow and the content I engage in. What a complete failure of a product.

You know, it used to be if I logged into this Twitter account where I follow exclusively politicians, journalists, and academics, the algorithm would feed me important things, like… I dunno… …the fall of bloody Aleppo?!

Posted an identical academic-related tweet on both X and Bluesky this morning. On Bluesky, I got engagement from other academics. On here, nothing happened, except I’ve been followed by four porn bots… Feels like the academic community has left the building.

Lots of people to be thankful for, not least my long-suffering family who put up with me as I watched propaganda videos from a dour winter general election, but also my supervisors Nick and Simon, my examiners Paul & Maarja, and everyone at NCL politics.