My research examines social media and campaigning in contemporary democracies. My interests cover the following areas:
- Politics
- Political parties
- Political campaigning
- Communications
- Voter behaviour
- Digital technology and politics
- Advertising
- Targeted advertising
- Organic campaigning
- Social media
- Regulation
- Algorithms
- Rights on the internet
At the moment I am continuing my PhD upon the use of Facebook. With several research papers under construction. Below is some of my academic and journalistic output, alongside their domain for access.
Research video playlist
Academic work
- We have finally seen behind the parties data machine, A/B testing at the 2019 General Election. Election Analysis, 2020. Tristan Hotham, 11th December, 2019
Research in blogs
- Trump v Biden: who is engaging the most followers on Facebook? The Conversation. 7th October, 2020.
- Political Content on Social Media 2020. eMarketer. 28th March, 2020.
- General Election 2019: what are the parties telling us via their targeted adverts? PSA News Blog. 11th December, 2019.
- The digital campaign: Targeted advertising in the 2019 General Election. PSA News Blog, 6th December, 2019.
- We need to talk about A/B testing: Brexit, attack ads and the election campaign. LSE Brexit Blog, 13th November, 2019.
- Facebook is restricting search results – is this taking transparency seriously. The Conversation. April 11th, 2018.
- Facebook risks starting a war on knowledge. The Conversation. August 17th, 2018.
Conference presentations
- Is it party leader pages or party pages that matter most on UK Facebook? Presentation given at the 2019 PSA Conference, Nottingham.
- Researching Facebook in troubled times. Presentation given at the 2018 SWDTP Conference, Bristol.
- Facebook and Big Data: Has it changed party campaigning in Britain forever? Presentation given at the 2016 EPOP Conference, Canterbury.
