Nick Anstead
@nickanstead.bsky.social
Associate Professor at LSE, researching political communications and the role of ideas in politics. More on me and my research: https://linktr.ee/NickAnstead
Pinned
Nick Anstead
@nickanstead.bsky.social
· Apr 24
🚨New article alert! 🚨
"Facebook election advertising: dangerous for democracy or politics as usual? The case of the 2017 UK general election" in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics.
Available open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
"Facebook election advertising: dangerous for democracy or politics as usual? The case of the 2017 UK general election" in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics.
Available open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Spydere Man, Spydere Man
Doth al things a spydere kan
Sondry webbes he kan weaven
Thieves lyke flyes he kan cacchen
Lo! anon cometh Spydere Man
Doth al things a spydere kan
Sondry webbes he kan weaven
Thieves lyke flyes he kan cacchen
Lo! anon cometh Spydere Man
November 13, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Spydere Man, Spydere Man
Doth al things a spydere kan
Sondry webbes he kan weaven
Thieves lyke flyes he kan cacchen
Lo! anon cometh Spydere Man
Doth al things a spydere kan
Sondry webbes he kan weaven
Thieves lyke flyes he kan cacchen
Lo! anon cometh Spydere Man
If you enjoyed the final of Celebrity Traitors last night, you might be interested in this blog post I wrote on how celebrities voted differently at the roundtable from regular contestants.
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
a woman in a green hooded cape holding a lantern
Alt: Alan Carr in a green hooded cape holding a lantern
media.tenor.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:28 PM
If you enjoyed the final of Celebrity Traitors last night, you might be interested in this blog post I wrote on how celebrities voted differently at the roundtable from regular contestants.
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Yes, celebrities do play #Traitors differently from regular contestants… and here’s the political science to prove it, as explained by @nickanstead.bsky.social: hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
#CelebrityTraitors
#CelebrityTraitors
Yes, celebrities do play Traitors differently from regular contestants... and here's the political science to prove it - Hard boards and crooked timbers
(Warning: this post contains spoilers, so if you haven’t been watching Celebrity Traitors, you might wish not to read on…) As well as being the TV event of the year so far, Celebrity Traitors, which c...
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Yes, celebrities do play #Traitors differently from regular contestants… and here’s the political science to prove it, as explained by @nickanstead.bsky.social: hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
#CelebrityTraitors
#CelebrityTraitors
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Superb stuff from @nickanstead.bsky.social.
The Celebrity Traitors are behaving like a more fragmented and volatile electorate. Perhaps because they have less on the line?
The Celebrity Traitors are behaving like a more fragmented and volatile electorate. Perhaps because they have less on the line?
November 6, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Superb stuff from @nickanstead.bsky.social.
The Celebrity Traitors are behaving like a more fragmented and volatile electorate. Perhaps because they have less on the line?
The Celebrity Traitors are behaving like a more fragmented and volatile electorate. Perhaps because they have less on the line?
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Understanding the causes of things….
Yes, celebrities do play Traitors differently from regular contestants... and here's the political science to prove it
https://hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrities-do-play-traitors-differently-from-regular-contestants-and-heres-the-political-science-to-prove-it/
https://hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrities-do-play-traitors-differently-from-regular-contestants-and-heres-the-political-science-to-prove-it/
November 6, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Understanding the causes of things….
A new blog entry from me, crunching some numbers on voting in the Celebrity Traitors roundtables (warning: contains spoilers). TLDR: they vote differently from regular players.
#traitors #bbc #final #fragmentation
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
#traitors #bbc #final #fragmentation
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
Yes, celebrities do play Traitors differently from regular contestants... and here's the political science to prove it - Hard boards and crooked timbers
(Warning: this post contains spoilers, so if you haven’t been watching Celebrity Traitors, you might wish not to read on…) As well as being the TV event of the year so far, Celebrity Traitors, which c...
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:11 AM
A new blog entry from me, crunching some numbers on voting in the Celebrity Traitors roundtables (warning: contains spoilers). TLDR: they vote differently from regular players.
#traitors #bbc #final #fragmentation
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
#traitors #bbc #final #fragmentation
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrit...
A short blog entry from me, featuring some actual political science on the voting patterns in the Celebrity Traitors roundtables (warning: contains spoilers!). TLDR: Yes, celebrities play the game differently from regular contestants.
Yes, celebrities do play Traitors differently from regular contestants… and here’s the political science to prove it
(Warning: this post contains spoilers, so if you haven’t been watching Celebrity Traitors, you might wish not to read on…) As well as being the TV event of the year so far, Celebrity Traitors, which concludes tonight, is a near-perfect natural experiment. My interest was piqued by a conversation between contestants historian David Olusoga and comedian Lucy Beaumont in the Scottish castle where the show is filmed.
hardboardscrookedtimbers.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:01 AM
A short blog entry from me, featuring some actual political science on the voting patterns in the Celebrity Traitors roundtables (warning: contains spoilers!). TLDR: Yes, celebrities play the game differently from regular contestants.
Yes, celebrities do play Traitors differently from regular contestants... and here's the political science to prove it
https://hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrities-do-play-traitors-differently-from-regular-contestants-and-heres-the-political-science-to-prove-it/
https://hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrities-do-play-traitors-differently-from-regular-contestants-and-heres-the-political-science-to-prove-it/
November 6, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Yes, celebrities do play Traitors differently from regular contestants... and here's the political science to prove it
https://hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrities-do-play-traitors-differently-from-regular-contestants-and-heres-the-political-science-to-prove-it/
https://hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrities-do-play-traitors-differently-from-regular-contestants-and-heres-the-political-science-to-prove-it/
Reposted by Nick Anstead
November 3, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Great investigation of the Nazis, racists and criminals mobilising the flag-on-lamp-posts movement. This is the kind of journalism that the national media could and should have conducted:
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
November 2, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Great investigation of the Nazis, racists and criminals mobilising the flag-on-lamp-posts movement. This is the kind of journalism that the national media could and should have conducted:
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
Donald Trump proving the maxim that you should never organise a theme party around a book you haven’t read.
www.thedailybeast.com/mar-a-lago-g...
www.thedailybeast.com/mar-a-lago-g...
Mar-a-Lago Guests Spill Tacky Details of Trump’s Gatsby Bash
The president’s already under fire for what critics describe as a bitterly ironic choice of party theme on the eve of 42 million Americans losing access to food support programs.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Donald Trump proving the maxim that you should never organise a theme party around a book you haven’t read.
www.thedailybeast.com/mar-a-lago-g...
www.thedailybeast.com/mar-a-lago-g...
Have driven past it many times. It is brilliant.
Lovely to see the listing increased to Grade II* by Historic England and the DCMS for this amazing windmill in Margate. Draper's Windmill was constructed in about 1843, by John Holman, millwright of Canterbury. 🧵
📷 Emily Greenaway
📷 Emily Greenaway
November 1, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Have driven past it many times. It is brilliant.
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care
Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Nick Anstead
This such a perfect patriotic 🇬🇧 Fleet Street cock-up. It's one thing for a news outlet to be duped by a competent hoaxer. Excruciating, yes, but there's a fairly long history of such fuck ups. But to put out a statement SAYING you'd been hoaxed but you'd actually just emailed the wrong guy?
October 30, 2025 at 6:34 AM
This such a perfect patriotic 🇬🇧 Fleet Street cock-up. It's one thing for a news outlet to be duped by a competent hoaxer. Excruciating, yes, but there's a fairly long history of such fuck ups. But to put out a statement SAYING you'd been hoaxed but you'd actually just emailed the wrong guy?
I appreciated the scale of London on a plane last year. I was at a conference in Dublin. Flying home I looked out the window over Dublin, a magnificent European capital. 50 mins later really noticed the vastness of London.
Later I looked up the numbers: London metro population is approx 10x Dublin.
Later I looked up the numbers: London metro population is approx 10x Dublin.
Much of The Discourse about London comes about because those outside it fail to legit grasp how big it is, vs their own town or city.
And because Londoners fail to realise the same.
And yes. London being this big in comparison to the rest of the UK is bad. But that doesn't make LONDON bad.
And because Londoners fail to realise the same.
And yes. London being this big in comparison to the rest of the UK is bad. But that doesn't make LONDON bad.
October 28, 2025 at 8:37 PM
I appreciated the scale of London on a plane last year. I was at a conference in Dublin. Flying home I looked out the window over Dublin, a magnificent European capital. 50 mins later really noticed the vastness of London.
Later I looked up the numbers: London metro population is approx 10x Dublin.
Later I looked up the numbers: London metro population is approx 10x Dublin.
Netflix adverts trying to sell me AI with people rapping about PDFs.
a man wearing a music band shirt is holding a skateboard over his shoulder
Alt: a man wearing a music band shirt is holding a skateboard over his shoulder
media.tenor.com
October 28, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Netflix adverts trying to sell me AI with people rapping about PDFs.
Enjoyed Bacchae @nationaltheatre.org.uk. It wasn’t perfect - the satire was not quite coherent - but it was fun & bawdy, & final denouncement about the role of theatre in society was v moving. It is also remarkable about seeing Greek tragedy in the Olivier, modelled on Theatre of Epidaurus.
October 28, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Enjoyed Bacchae @nationaltheatre.org.uk. It wasn’t perfect - the satire was not quite coherent - but it was fun & bawdy, & final denouncement about the role of theatre in society was v moving. It is also remarkable about seeing Greek tragedy in the Olivier, modelled on Theatre of Epidaurus.
Has the Times lost its mind?
What do their journalists sit on? Breeze blocks?
What do their journalists sit on? Breeze blocks?
October 27, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Has the Times lost its mind?
What do their journalists sit on? Breeze blocks?
What do their journalists sit on? Breeze blocks?
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Braverman deleted this tweet which made me wonder who that previous prisoner was. His name was Junead Ahmed. He was a conman mistakenly released in 2023. She was Home Secretary at the time. Oh.
news.sky.com/story/migran...
news.sky.com/story/migran...
October 26, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Braverman deleted this tweet which made me wonder who that previous prisoner was. His name was Junead Ahmed. He was a conman mistakenly released in 2023. She was Home Secretary at the time. Oh.
news.sky.com/story/migran...
news.sky.com/story/migran...
The Caerphilly by-election points to GE in which tactical voting will matter… & MRPs pose a real danger in that situation. At the constituency level, prediction error can be huge & results can be downright eccentric. But they will be used to argue that one or another party is best placed to win.
Latest GE MRP by YouGov predicted a comfortable Reform UK Caerphilly win.
October 24, 2025 at 11:31 AM
The Caerphilly by-election points to GE in which tactical voting will matter… & MRPs pose a real danger in that situation. At the constituency level, prediction error can be huge & results can be downright eccentric. But they will be used to argue that one or another party is best placed to win.
Reposted by Nick Anstead
america was doomed when they decided on the pronunciations of kansas and arkansas
October 24, 2025 at 3:50 AM
america was doomed when they decided on the pronunciations of kansas and arkansas
Reposted by Nick Anstead
Reform lost by 11% in Caerphilly - because of a surge in turnout, because Reform looked set to win the seat.
This illustrates Reform's vulnerability *because* they are leading the polls (in a 6 party system) while being an *unpopular* party. A much bigger problem under FPTP 2029 than PR 2026
This illustrates Reform's vulnerability *because* they are leading the polls (in a 6 party system) while being an *unpopular* party. A much bigger problem under FPTP 2029 than PR 2026
October 24, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Reform lost by 11% in Caerphilly - because of a surge in turnout, because Reform looked set to win the seat.
This illustrates Reform's vulnerability *because* they are leading the polls (in a 6 party system) while being an *unpopular* party. A much bigger problem under FPTP 2029 than PR 2026
This illustrates Reform's vulnerability *because* they are leading the polls (in a 6 party system) while being an *unpopular* party. A much bigger problem under FPTP 2029 than PR 2026
Reposted by Nick Anstead
That scene of the Welsh BBC correspondent being the only person interviewing Caerphilly's new Plaid AM while the rest of the media interviewed Reform's loser in the background was far too on the nose.
October 24, 2025 at 1:34 AM
That scene of the Welsh BBC correspondent being the only person interviewing Caerphilly's new Plaid AM while the rest of the media interviewed Reform's loser in the background was far too on the nose.
Reposted by Nick Anstead
The extent to which the news media cycle is focusing on Reform rather than the wider strategic goals of Plaid Cymru as the party that actually won is a sign that much of the media and political establishment is going to again end up blindsided by trends that were visible long before
That scene of the Welsh BBC correspondent being the only person interviewing Caerphilly's new Plaid AM while the rest of the media interviewed Reform's loser in the background was far too on the nose.
October 24, 2025 at 8:53 AM
The extent to which the news media cycle is focusing on Reform rather than the wider strategic goals of Plaid Cymru as the party that actually won is a sign that much of the media and political establishment is going to again end up blindsided by trends that were visible long before
This seems a cataclysmic misreading of what has happened from the BBC. Not good.
Chris Mason has misunderstood the Caerphilly by-election with the idea that Reform lost "none of the above" voters who could have voted Reform to Plaid, or that Plaid took the potential Reform vote.
Hope BES academics can point out why this reading of Wales/Scotland v England misses the drivers
Hope BES academics can point out why this reading of Wales/Scotland v England misses the drivers
October 24, 2025 at 11:23 AM
This seems a cataclysmic misreading of what has happened from the BBC. Not good.