Rob Topinka
@robtoes.bsky.social
Reader in Digital Media & Rhetoric Birkbeck, University of London.
researching reactionary digital politics
and the politics of shitposting (https://tinyurl.com/yc72aaah)
recovering lurker
researching reactionary digital politics
and the politics of shitposting (https://tinyurl.com/yc72aaah)
recovering lurker
Part 2, on the online right, out now:
“The convergence of monetary incentives with ideologically charged engagement produces a kind of ambient extremism in contemporary politics…”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
“The convergence of monetary incentives with ideologically charged engagement produces a kind of ambient extremism in contemporary politics…”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
January 31, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Part 2, on the online right, out now:
“The convergence of monetary incentives with ideologically charged engagement produces a kind of ambient extremism in contemporary politics…”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
“The convergence of monetary incentives with ideologically charged engagement produces a kind of ambient extremism in contemporary politics…”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Rob Topinka
“The overwhelming liberal focus on disinformation misreads how digital platforms work…cutting-edge propagandists now focus less on policy messaging and more on massaging vibes”.
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
How liberals lost the internet | Robert Topinka
In the first part of our series on digital politics, we look at how centrists have lost ground fighting disinformation – when the real battle is over emotion and attention, says digital media academic...
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:51 AM
“The overwhelming liberal focus on disinformation misreads how digital platforms work…cutting-edge propagandists now focus less on policy messaging and more on massaging vibes”.
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
Start of a new series by the excellent @robtoes.bsky.social
Reposted by Rob Topinka
“The overwhelming liberal focus on disinformation misreads how digital platforms work: misleading content is everywhere, but the real battleground is over emotion and attention”
A must read by @robtoes.bsky.social in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A must read by @robtoes.bsky.social in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
How liberals lost the internet | Robert Topinka
In the first part of our series on digital politics, we look at how centrists have lost ground fighting disinformation – when the real battle is over emotion and attention, says digital media academic...
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:15 AM
“The overwhelming liberal focus on disinformation misreads how digital platforms work: misleading content is everywhere, but the real battleground is over emotion and attention”
A must read by @robtoes.bsky.social in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A must read by @robtoes.bsky.social in @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The 1st of my 3-part series on digital politics is out in the Guardian.
Read, comment, tell me I'm wrong, attack me. As I argue:
'The real battleground is over emotion and attention, which is what determines whether information – good or bad – finds an audience.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Read, comment, tell me I'm wrong, attack me. As I argue:
'The real battleground is over emotion and attention, which is what determines whether information – good or bad – finds an audience.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
How liberals lost the internet | Robert Topinka
In the first part of our series on digital politics, we look at how centrists have lost ground fighting disinformation – when the real battle is over emotion and attention, says digital media academic...
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:08 AM
The 1st of my 3-part series on digital politics is out in the Guardian.
Read, comment, tell me I'm wrong, attack me. As I argue:
'The real battleground is over emotion and attention, which is what determines whether information – good or bad – finds an audience.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Read, comment, tell me I'm wrong, attack me. As I argue:
'The real battleground is over emotion and attention, which is what determines whether information – good or bad – finds an audience.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I got a quote in about how to think about penguin posting in this excellent primer on Trump’s AI slopaganda, its reactionary nostalgia, its clumsy white nationalism, its obvious mistakes - it’s all on purpose.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
The slopaganda era: 10 AI images posted by the White House – and what they teach us
Under Donald Trump, the White House has filled its social media with memes, wishcasting, nostalgia and deepfakes. Here’s what you need to know to navigate the trolling
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:36 PM
I got a quote in about how to think about penguin posting in this excellent primer on Trump’s AI slopaganda, its reactionary nostalgia, its clumsy white nationalism, its obvious mistakes - it’s all on purpose.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Rob Topinka
Interview by Aamna Mohdin of my @bisa-bkk.bsky.social colleague @dmf101.bsky.social in which he crisply articulates why we need a reset in our antisemitism debate
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... @runnymedetrust.bsky.social @shabna.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... @runnymedetrust.bsky.social @shabna.bsky.social
Tuesday briefing: Why efforts to tackle Britain’s long history of antisemitism have fallen short
In today’s newsletter: A scholar of antisemitism on how we define it, how it has operated in Britain, and what can be done
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Interview by Aamna Mohdin of my @bisa-bkk.bsky.social colleague @dmf101.bsky.social in which he crisply articulates why we need a reset in our antisemitism debate
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... @runnymedetrust.bsky.social @shabna.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... @runnymedetrust.bsky.social @shabna.bsky.social
Murray Rothbard wanted to repeal the 20th century. Curtis Yarvin thinks liberalism got out of hand when the Union won the US Civil War.
The 'Donroe Doctrine' fits this line of thinking.
Trump is more erratic now, but his 2nd term is actually more ideologically coherent.
www.ft.com/content/4e0e...
The 'Donroe Doctrine' fits this line of thinking.
Trump is more erratic now, but his 2nd term is actually more ideologically coherent.
www.ft.com/content/4e0e...
January 20, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Murray Rothbard wanted to repeal the 20th century. Curtis Yarvin thinks liberalism got out of hand when the Union won the US Civil War.
The 'Donroe Doctrine' fits this line of thinking.
Trump is more erratic now, but his 2nd term is actually more ideologically coherent.
www.ft.com/content/4e0e...
The 'Donroe Doctrine' fits this line of thinking.
Trump is more erratic now, but his 2nd term is actually more ideologically coherent.
www.ft.com/content/4e0e...
Was great to be on the @overunderpod.bsky.social to talk about Grok and the future of AI porn and how Trump's comments about Civil Rights going too far shows MAGA is not just about being anti-woke - it's also a rejection of the basic idea of equality pod.link/1744973171/e...
pod.link
January 20, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Was great to be on the @overunderpod.bsky.social to talk about Grok and the future of AI porn and how Trump's comments about Civil Rights going too far shows MAGA is not just about being anti-woke - it's also a rejection of the basic idea of equality pod.link/1744973171/e...
nice materialist debunking of Jacob Savage's pseudo-materialist account of DEI hurting white Millennial males.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/12/17/w...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/12/17/w...
January 14, 2026 at 12:44 PM
nice materialist debunking of Jacob Savage's pseudo-materialist account of DEI hurting white Millennial males.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/12/17/w...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/12/17/w...
Reposted by Rob Topinka
In a bout of insomnia the night before last I wrote something about Trump’s regime capture in Caracas
leftrenewal.org/articles-en/... #LeftRenewal
leftrenewal.org/articles-en/... #LeftRenewal
In a Time of Helicopters, by Ben Gidley – 7 January 2026 – Left Renewal Blog
leftrenewal.org
January 8, 2026 at 12:28 PM
In a bout of insomnia the night before last I wrote something about Trump’s regime capture in Caracas
leftrenewal.org/articles-en/... #LeftRenewal
leftrenewal.org/articles-en/... #LeftRenewal
I usually go on r/PoliticalCompassMemes to get annoyed but sometimes you find some bangers
January 9, 2026 at 7:51 PM
I usually go on r/PoliticalCompassMemes to get annoyed but sometimes you find some bangers
Trump’s lies always tell an ideological truth.
The ICE agent obviously wasn’t hit, which is why Trump says he was nearly killed - ICE acts on Trump’s behalf, so anything bad ICE does must actually be the work of the enemy.
The less popular Trump gets, the more detached he’ll become
The ICE agent obviously wasn’t hit, which is why Trump says he was nearly killed - ICE acts on Trump’s behalf, so anything bad ICE does must actually be the work of the enemy.
The less popular Trump gets, the more detached he’ll become
January 7, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Trump’s lies always tell an ideological truth.
The ICE agent obviously wasn’t hit, which is why Trump says he was nearly killed - ICE acts on Trump’s behalf, so anything bad ICE does must actually be the work of the enemy.
The less popular Trump gets, the more detached he’ll become
The ICE agent obviously wasn’t hit, which is why Trump says he was nearly killed - ICE acts on Trump’s behalf, so anything bad ICE does must actually be the work of the enemy.
The less popular Trump gets, the more detached he’ll become
so when Anthropic let Claude talk to itself, it started blissing out about spiritual unity.
Nice piece from David Berry on how this is the result of LLMs encoding a kind of 'latent hegemony' - in this case, the hippie capitalism of the California Ideology stunlaw.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Nice piece from David Berry on how this is the result of LLMs encoding a kind of 'latent hegemony' - in this case, the hippie capitalism of the California Ideology stunlaw.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
January 7, 2026 at 2:55 PM
so when Anthropic let Claude talk to itself, it started blissing out about spiritual unity.
Nice piece from David Berry on how this is the result of LLMs encoding a kind of 'latent hegemony' - in this case, the hippie capitalism of the California Ideology stunlaw.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Nice piece from David Berry on how this is the result of LLMs encoding a kind of 'latent hegemony' - in this case, the hippie capitalism of the California Ideology stunlaw.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Reposted by Rob Topinka
Check out this great article by @ashifakassam.bsky.social, featuring yours truly and the fab @gretajasser.bsky.social!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
‘It’s frightening’: How far right is infiltrating everyday culture
Extremist messaging now woven into music and YouTube videos, with one expert saying: ‘You can be radicalised sitting on your couch’
www.theguardian.com
December 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Check out this great article by @ashifakassam.bsky.social, featuring yours truly and the fab @gretajasser.bsky.social!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Reposted by Rob Topinka
Radical right parties in Europe have not moderated. Their positions and rhetoric have entered the mainstream. They have become normalized and legitimized. Unless we understand this, we have little chance of countering their success.
In many parts of Europe populist-right parties have moderated as they have grown, shedding unpopular policies and personnel. If anything, the AfD in Germany is growing more radical econ.st/3KSptMm
Illustration: Javier Palma
Illustration: Javier Palma
December 16, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Radical right parties in Europe have not moderated. Their positions and rhetoric have entered the mainstream. They have become normalized and legitimized. Unless we understand this, we have little chance of countering their success.
obviously the Yookay Aesthetics account, devoted to mocking multicultural Britain, is based in South America
November 26, 2025 at 2:15 PM
obviously the Yookay Aesthetics account, devoted to mocking multicultural Britain, is based in South America
Reposted by Rob Topinka
Dick Cheney shot his friend in the face the right way.
by Ezra Klein
by Ezra Klein
November 4, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Dick Cheney shot his friend in the face the right way.
by Ezra Klein
by Ezra Klein
In these turbulent times, we can always rely on powerful liberal institutions to surrender their ideals and cave to authoritarianism without any fight whatsoever
UVA "agrees to be bound by [DoJ's] 'Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination,' ensuring that UVA does not engage in unlawful racial discrimination in its university programming, admissions, hiring, or other activities." bluevirginia.us/2025/10/brea...
October 23, 2025 at 10:40 AM
In these turbulent times, we can always rely on powerful liberal institutions to surrender their ideals and cave to authoritarianism without any fight whatsoever
I was on Today in Focus talking about how the meme phrase the 'Boriswave' commits those who use it - including in mainstream politic and journalism - to an ideological framing with roots in the Great Replacement theory, whether they are aware of it or not.
www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...
www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...
Boriswave, fighting-age men, cultural Marxism: how the far right is changing how we speak
Why are the online far right so successful in shaping our political language? With Dr Robert Topinka
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I was on Today in Focus talking about how the meme phrase the 'Boriswave' commits those who use it - including in mainstream politic and journalism - to an ideological framing with roots in the Great Replacement theory, whether they are aware of it or not.
www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...
www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...
“Trumpian stupidity is less a form of organizational inertia or disarray than a slash-and-burn assault on the very things — universities, public health, market data — that help make the world intelligible.”
www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/pol...
www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/pol...
Stupidology | William Davies
The challenge posed by this political crisis is how to take the stupidity seriously without reducing it to a wholly mental or psychiatric, let alone genetic, phenomenon. Stupidity can be understood as...
www.nplusonemag.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:32 PM
“Trumpian stupidity is less a form of organizational inertia or disarray than a slash-and-burn assault on the very things — universities, public health, market data — that help make the world intelligible.”
www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/pol...
www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/pol...
Crucial listening to understand how politics works today
I was delighted to speak to Alan Finlayson for the @lrb.co.uk's On Politics. We take on the digital right (and online left), the champions of inegalitarianism, print and social democracy, Farage as influencer and... whether the internet is just right-wing.
October 16, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Crucial listening to understand how politics works today
happy to report that the world is now so stupid that my knowledge of shitposting has become valuable enough to publish in the Guardian.
My favorite part is I got to call JD Vance a try-hard who can't even shitpost properly in print.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My favorite part is I got to call JD Vance a try-hard who can't even shitpost properly in print.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Do you know about shitposting? It’s cheap humour, rage bait – and now, it seems, US government policy | Robert Topinka
Donald Trump’s White House reveals a new ‘portrait’ of Joe Biden – and in his world, if you don’t laugh, the joke’s on you, says Robert Topinka of Birkbeck, University of London
www.theguardian.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:26 AM
happy to report that the world is now so stupid that my knowledge of shitposting has become valuable enough to publish in the Guardian.
My favorite part is I got to call JD Vance a try-hard who can't even shitpost properly in print.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My favorite part is I got to call JD Vance a try-hard who can't even shitpost properly in print.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Rob Topinka
Everyone always asks me what my favourite conspiracy theory is but medbeds is for sure the saddest, I really can't think about it for too long. Just openly preying on the hopes of very desperate people
Trump tonight appears to have pushed the false "medbed" conspiracy theory, which has spread in the far-right internet over the years. www.yahoo.com/news/qanon-c...
September 28, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Everyone always asks me what my favourite conspiracy theory is but medbeds is for sure the saddest, I really can't think about it for too long. Just openly preying on the hopes of very desperate people
If Palantir secures the contract for the digital ID rollout, will that make it more or less likely that the Antichrist will help me pay my council tax?
September 26, 2025 at 7:18 AM
If Palantir secures the contract for the digital ID rollout, will that make it more or less likely that the Antichrist will help me pay my council tax?
Reposted by Rob Topinka
Last week I had a bit in @theguardian.com about how rhetoric provides a vocabulary for people to think/argue with. Here's my colleague @robtoes.bsky.social explaining how exactly that was done by online reactionaries inventing 'Boriswave'. Read & learn.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Tuesday briefing: The online origins of ‘Boriswave’, the right’s favourite new phrase
In today’s newsletter: How a term created by the extremely online right made it into the mainstream press – and a major speech by Nigel Farage
www.theguardian.com
September 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Last week I had a bit in @theguardian.com about how rhetoric provides a vocabulary for people to think/argue with. Here's my colleague @robtoes.bsky.social explaining how exactly that was done by online reactionaries inventing 'Boriswave'. Read & learn.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...