Dr. Paul Reilly, Senior Lecturer in Social Media and Digital Society at the University of Sheffield, shares his research on the role of social media in protests in Northern Ireland. We first discuss the “Irish Border Question” in relation to Brexit, and then hone in on two demonstrations in Northern Ireland: the union flag protests in 2013 and the Ardoyne parade dispute in 2014. The discussion highlights how much of the contemporary debates around Facebook and Twitter (e.g., disinformation, propaganda, and user privacy) have roots much earlier than the 2016 US election.

The two articles covered in the episode are:

1. Researching protest on Facebook: developing an ethical stance for the study of Northern Irish flag protest pages
2. Tweeting for peace? Twitter and the Ardoyne parade dispute in Belfast, July 2014