Felix M. Simon
@felixsimon.bsky.social
Research Fellow in AI and News, Reuters Institute, Oxford University | Research Associate & PhD, Oxford Internet Institute | Junior Research Fellow, Corpus Christi College | AI, news, (mis)info, democracy | My views etc…
https://www.felixsimon.net/
https://www.felixsimon.net/
Pinned
Felix M. Simon
@felixsimon.bsky.social
· Nov 11
For those new to 🦋👋
I’m a research fellow in AI and news at @reutersinstitute.bsky.social at Oxford University. I mostly work on AI & news, with frequent excursions into misinfo & tech power, all tied to democracy & information ecosystems.
I am 🇩🇪 🇦🇹 🇪🇺 in 🇬🇧 and post about 👆(and a bit of banter…)
I’m a research fellow in AI and news at @reutersinstitute.bsky.social at Oxford University. I mostly work on AI & news, with frequent excursions into misinfo & tech power, all tied to democracy & information ecosystems.
I am 🇩🇪 🇦🇹 🇪🇺 in 🇬🇧 and post about 👆(and a bit of banter…)
I will now be reposting this once a day ✨ so apologies for flooding your feeds
🚨✨I want your input for the next survey of GenAI use for information and news!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
GenAI and News Report 2026: We want your ideas
We are re-running our annual Generative AI and News report which looks at how people use generative AI in their everyday lives, and what they think its impact will be on different areas of society,…
docs.google.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:06 AM
I will now be reposting this once a day ✨ so apologies for flooding your feeds
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a resident of Monaco”
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the country's richest and most influential men, has told Sky News.
news.sky.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:16 AM
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a resident of Monaco”
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
🚨✨I want your input for the next survey of GenAI use for information and news!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
GenAI and News Report 2026: We want your ideas
We are re-running our annual Generative AI and News report which looks at how people use generative AI in their everyday lives, and what they think its impact will be on different areas of society,…
docs.google.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:35 PM
🚨✨I want your input for the next survey of GenAI use for information and news!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
🚨✨I want your input for the next survey of GenAI use for information and news!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
GenAI and News Report 2026: We want your ideas
We are re-running our annual Generative AI and News report which looks at how people use generative AI in their everyday lives, and what they think its impact will be on different areas of society,…
docs.google.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:35 PM
🚨✨I want your input for the next survey of GenAI use for information and news!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
Please fill out the super quick survey here buff.ly/kFDRLqw
Details in the thread!
@petemarcus.bsky.social just pointed me to this article which is a very thorough takedown arriving at the same conclusion: www.exponentialview.co/p/how-95-esc...
The "95% fail" number is essentially meaningless
The "95% fail" number is essentially meaningless
February 11, 2026 at 11:40 AM
@petemarcus.bsky.social just pointed me to this article which is a very thorough takedown arriving at the same conclusion: www.exponentialview.co/p/how-95-esc...
The "95% fail" number is essentially meaningless
The "95% fail" number is essentially meaningless
A short note on questionable AI studies or why friends don’t let friends make %-claims based on small-n qualitative research interview reports
New week, new AI newsletter from Marina and myself here at RISJ: buff.ly/ckaUSn9
New week, new AI newsletter from Marina and myself here at RISJ: buff.ly/ckaUSn9
February 11, 2026 at 10:06 AM
A short note on questionable AI studies or why friends don’t let friends make %-claims based on small-n qualitative research interview reports
New week, new AI newsletter from Marina and myself here at RISJ: buff.ly/ckaUSn9
New week, new AI newsletter from Marina and myself here at RISJ: buff.ly/ckaUSn9
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
As featured in my and @felixsimon.bsky.social's newsletter, 45 freelance journalists and commissioning editors shared with me their experiences of the impact of GenAI on their work.
Here's the nuanced picture emerging from those testimonies.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
Here's the nuanced picture emerging from those testimonies.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
Speed, hoaxes and mistrust: How AI is transforming freelance journalism
A spate of articles by a freelance journalist named Margaux Blanchard appeared in major English-language publications in 2025. But the pieces, including first-person essays for Business Insider and a ...
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
February 10, 2026 at 4:31 PM
As featured in my and @felixsimon.bsky.social's newsletter, 45 freelance journalists and commissioning editors shared with me their experiences of the impact of GenAI on their work.
Here's the nuanced picture emerging from those testimonies.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
Here's the nuanced picture emerging from those testimonies.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
Not the kind of book you’d expect based purely on the title
February 10, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Not the kind of book you’d expect based purely on the title
For our February AI newsletter I’ve decided to re-crunch our data on people’s attitudes to AI and news. I was curious what the association between peoples’ trust in news and their expectations about how responsibly different news outlets use generative AI looks like. As we can see, the a mixed bag.
February 10, 2026 at 2:08 PM
For our February AI newsletter I’ve decided to re-crunch our data on people’s attitudes to AI and news. I was curious what the association between peoples’ trust in news and their expectations about how responsibly different news outlets use generative AI looks like. As we can see, the a mixed bag.
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
We wanted to know how AI is transforming freelance journalism. So my colleague @marinaadami.bsky.social launched an open call to freelancers and commissioning editors and listened to their experiences.
What emerges is a nuanced picture Read below
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
What emerges is a nuanced picture Read below
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
Speed, hoaxes and mistrust: How AI is transforming freelance journalism
A spate of articles by a freelance journalist named Margaux Blanchard appeared in major English-language publications in 2025. But the pieces, including first-person essays for Business Insider and a ...
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
February 10, 2026 at 10:52 AM
We wanted to know how AI is transforming freelance journalism. So my colleague @marinaadami.bsky.social launched an open call to freelancers and commissioning editors and listened to their experiences.
What emerges is a nuanced picture Read below
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
What emerges is a nuanced picture Read below
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/speed-h...
AI firms running into the same issues that other tech firms have encountered in the past: If you want access to certain markets which have something you want (e.g. $$$ or lots of customers), you have to play by their rules.
February 9, 2026 at 10:47 AM
AI firms running into the same issues that other tech firms have encountered in the past: If you want access to certain markets which have something you want (e.g. $$$ or lots of customers), you have to play by their rules.
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
5/5 PMs with approval ratings of measles isn't just a feature of failed leadership. It's Brexit Britain. There's no money for anything people want and were promised they would have, and no one can blame the people who got us into this mess because they got 52% of the vote (let alone reverse it).
Starmer's reported condition - incredibly unpopular, shorn of authority, probably un-reelectable and yet will stagger on for want of an alternative - is just the new normal of how Britain is governed. It was also true for two-thirds of May's premiership, half of Johnson's and all of Sunak's.
February 6, 2026 at 12:10 PM
5/5 PMs with approval ratings of measles isn't just a feature of failed leadership. It's Brexit Britain. There's no money for anything people want and were promised they would have, and no one can blame the people who got us into this mess because they got 52% of the vote (let alone reverse it).
While I look forward to reading the new International AI Safety Report, this response by Yoshua Bengio strikes me as a bit strange. It's not exactly that mainstream media aren't covering AI's power issues. Maybe it's more that despite this, nothing seems to happen that puts a check on this power?
February 3, 2026 at 10:30 AM
While I look forward to reading the new International AI Safety Report, this response by Yoshua Bengio strikes me as a bit strange. It's not exactly that mainstream media aren't covering AI's power issues. Maybe it's more that despite this, nothing seems to happen that puts a check on this power?
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
They know what they say is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
The media know that what they repeat is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Their supporters know what they are told is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Telling the truth is not enough, unless people care about the truth.
The media know that what they repeat is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Their supporters know what they are told is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Telling the truth is not enough, unless people care about the truth.
January 24, 2026 at 11:25 PM
They know what they say is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
The media know that what they repeat is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Their supporters know what they are told is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Telling the truth is not enough, unless people care about the truth.
The media know that what they repeat is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Their supporters know what they are told is untrue, they do not care it is untrue.
Telling the truth is not enough, unless people care about the truth.
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
I cannot tell you how absolutely infuriatingly this stuff comes across to Europeans.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
Newsom: "It was remarkably boring. It was remarkably insignificant. He was never going invade Greenland. It was never real."
January 21, 2026 at 4:22 PM
I cannot tell you how absolutely infuriatingly this stuff comes across to Europeans.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
When we say America is no longer a reliable ally, it goes considerably deeper than Donald Trump himself. This kind of complacent, condescending shit is a *huge* part of it.
Nobel Taking The Piss Prize
January 16, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Nobel Taking The Piss Prize
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
Nobel Please Prize
January 15, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Nobel Please Prize
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
I hear #ica26 @icahdq.bsky.social notifications are going out, so here’s my annual reminder to put outcomes into perspective for early-career folks (full disclosure: I didn’t apply this year).
1. In this industry, rejection is the modal outcome. #epss2026 section convenors had over 2500 submissions, far more than the 3-day event can accommodate. This is a normal situation for major conferences. bsky.app/profile/epss...
🔝 EPSS received 2,514 paper submissions, authored and co-authored by 3,572 researchers from across the community.
Selecting from such a wealth of work won’t be easy, but it promises an great conference ahead.
1/
Selecting from such a wealth of work won’t be easy, but it promises an great conference ahead.
1/
January 15, 2026 at 6:55 AM
I hear #ica26 @icahdq.bsky.social notifications are going out, so here’s my annual reminder to put outcomes into perspective for early-career folks (full disclosure: I didn’t apply this year).
Interesting postdoc position on AI and journalism with @tomasdodds.bsky.social and the @publictechmedialab.bsky.social at the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Tomas is a good egg, so do apply 🥚
wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UW_Madison/j...
wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UW_Madison/j...
Postdoctoral Researcher - Public Media Tech Lab
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process. Job Category: Employees in Training Emplo...
wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Interesting postdoc position on AI and journalism with @tomasdodds.bsky.social and the @publictechmedialab.bsky.social at the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Tomas is a good egg, so do apply 🥚
wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UW_Madison/j...
wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UW_Madison/j...
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
it's worth noting that the shift from Wikipedia to AI for factual summaries also removes our ability to audit the information trail and reveal systematic manipulation like this. AI can offer sources, but nothing like the timestamped/IP address-linked edit history of wikis
bsky.app/profile/timb...
bsky.app/profile/timb...
January 15, 2026 at 10:30 AM
it's worth noting that the shift from Wikipedia to AI for factual summaries also removes our ability to audit the information trail and reveal systematic manipulation like this. AI can offer sources, but nothing like the timestamped/IP address-linked edit history of wikis
bsky.app/profile/timb...
bsky.app/profile/timb...
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
About 18 months ago I sent this letter, along with a copy of my book, to a number of MPs and peers, including Wes Streeting. I never got a response (which to be fair was my baseline expectation), but it’s still disheartening to see today’s news about Haidt’s invitation to speak to policymakers.
January 14, 2026 at 8:26 PM
About 18 months ago I sent this letter, along with a copy of my book, to a number of MPs and peers, including Wes Streeting. I never got a response (which to be fair was my baseline expectation), but it’s still disheartening to see today’s news about Haidt’s invitation to speak to policymakers.
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
The UK has some of the best social media and digital tech effects researchers in the world. I find it mind-boggling they haven’t been considered first.
January 14, 2026 at 8:28 PM
The UK has some of the best social media and digital tech effects researchers in the world. I find it mind-boggling they haven’t been considered first.
Reposted by Felix M. Simon
✍How is GenAI affecting freelance journalism?
🔭@marinaadami.bsky.social wants to speak with:
1. Freelance journalists
2. Commissioning editors
about whether and how Gen AI is affecting their professions
📝Fill out this: buff.ly/Zgx6Z4R
📩Or get in touch directly at: marina.adami@politics.ox.ac.uk
🔭@marinaadami.bsky.social wants to speak with:
1. Freelance journalists
2. Commissioning editors
about whether and how Gen AI is affecting their professions
📝Fill out this: buff.ly/Zgx6Z4R
📩Or get in touch directly at: marina.adami@politics.ox.ac.uk
January 14, 2026 at 11:23 AM
✍How is GenAI affecting freelance journalism?
🔭@marinaadami.bsky.social wants to speak with:
1. Freelance journalists
2. Commissioning editors
about whether and how Gen AI is affecting their professions
📝Fill out this: buff.ly/Zgx6Z4R
📩Or get in touch directly at: marina.adami@politics.ox.ac.uk
🔭@marinaadami.bsky.social wants to speak with:
1. Freelance journalists
2. Commissioning editors
about whether and how Gen AI is affecting their professions
📝Fill out this: buff.ly/Zgx6Z4R
📩Or get in touch directly at: marina.adami@politics.ox.ac.uk
Actual experts in the UK:
@orbenamy.bsky.social
@shuhbillskee.bsky.social
@sonialivingstone.bsky.social
@peteetchells.bsky.social
But no, let’s consult an academic activist who’s been called out on his methods more times than I can count.
@orbenamy.bsky.social
@shuhbillskee.bsky.social
@sonialivingstone.bsky.social
@peteetchells.bsky.social
But no, let’s consult an academic activist who’s been called out on his methods more times than I can count.
A number of world-leading experts who have conducted extensive quality research on this topic work in the UK, but no, Labour wants to make policy by airport book. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...
Wes Streeting asks US expert Jonathan Haidt to address officials on social media ban for under-16s
Exclusive: Health secretary issues invitation in push for UK to consider copying landmark restrictions in Australia
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Actual experts in the UK:
@orbenamy.bsky.social
@shuhbillskee.bsky.social
@sonialivingstone.bsky.social
@peteetchells.bsky.social
But no, let’s consult an academic activist who’s been called out on his methods more times than I can count.
@orbenamy.bsky.social
@shuhbillskee.bsky.social
@sonialivingstone.bsky.social
@peteetchells.bsky.social
But no, let’s consult an academic activist who’s been called out on his methods more times than I can count.