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Dr Olga Boichak
MPA, PhD (Syracuse University, USA)
Senior Lecturer, Digital Cultures, ARC DECRA Fellow, Early Career Research Network Coordinator
Discipline of Media and Communications
Discipline of Media and Communications
Dr Olga Boichak is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures and the Director of the Computational Social Science Lab in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She is a sociologist researching the role of information and communication technologies in shaping public perception and outcomes of wars. She is the author of over 30 research articles that lay the groundwork for new directions in the studies of peace and conflict, particularly in the areas of participatory war, influence operations, digital humanitarianism, and open-source intelligence. Currently, she is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow working on a project that maps colonial topographies of digital sovereignty, as well as chief investigator on a suite of research projects that explore digital and social media in a geopolitical context.
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Dr Boichak’s research interests include:
* Digital sovereignty and weaponisation of communication infrastructure in wars;
* Digital war, specifically the role of media, data, and artificial intelligence in contemporary military conflicts;
* Digital activism, with a focus on analysing discourses and interactions within online networks/communities;
* Networked humanitarianism and the role of crowds in environmental and geopolitical crises;
* Development of critical and innovative computational methods and approaches.
Teaching
* ARIN1010 – Elements of Digital Cultures (UG, S1 2023)
* ARIN2610 – Internet Transformations (UG, S2 2019)
* ARIN3610 – Technology and Culture (UG, S1 2020)
* ARIN3620 – Researching Digital Cultures (UG, S2 2022 & S2 2023)
* ARIN3630 – Digital Arts (UG, S2 2021 & S2 2022)
* MECO3605– Issues in global and Digital Media (S2 2023)
* ARIN6902 – Internet Cultures and Governance (PG, S1 2021 & S1 2022)
- 2025 - Westpac Research Fellow
- 2024 - Australian Academy of the Humanities Max Crawford Medal
- 2024 - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), Australian Research Council
- 2022 - University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor's Awards: Outstanding Early Career Research
- 2019 - Top Paper Award, International Communication Association (ICA), Philosophy, Theory & Critique division (Washington, DC, USA)
- 2019 - All-University Doctoral Prize in recognition of dissertation excellence, Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY, USA)
- 2019 -Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY, USA)
- 2019 - HICSS Doctoral Fellow, Hawai’i International Conference on System Sciences (Maui, HI, USA)
- 2018 - Roscoe Martin Dissertation Award (Syracuse, NY, USA)
- 2014 - Fulbright Fellow, Institute of International Education (Kyiv, Ukraine)
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| A Quantum Entanglement Analysis of the Kremlin’s Influence Industry’s Threat to Global Security | Alexandra CHALUPA |
| Developing a community-led moderation approach on social media platforms for marginalised communities | Lan HA |
| Digital Containment – An assessment of institutional responses to online disinformation and influence campaigns | Angela PALMER |
Publications
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Book Chapters
- Boichak, O., Chesher, C. (2024). Convergent media: when MECO met Digital Cultures. In Agata Mrva-Montoya, Cheryl O'Byrne, and Pam Walker (Eds.), Inside Stories: 20 Years of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney, (pp. 45-56). Sydney: Sydney University Press.
- Boichak, O., Miskyi, V. (2024). Ukraine: Maintaining a Resilient Media Ecosystem in Wartime. In Aljosha Karim Schapals and Christian Pentzold (Eds.), Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes, (pp. 181-195). Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: Wiley. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2022). Mapping Cross-Platform Mobilization: Geographies of Online Activism. SAGE Research Methods: Doing Research Online. online: SAGE Publishing. [More Information]
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Journals
- Humphry, J., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O. (2025). Social digital dilemmas: Young people's and parents' negotiation of emerging online safety issues. New Media and Society. [More Information]
- Kasianenko, K., Boichak, O. (2024). Canonizing online activism: Memetic iconography in the North Atlantic Fella Organization. Media, War and Conflict. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2023). Mapping the Russian Political Influence Ecosystem: The Night Wolves Biker Gang. Social Media + Society, 9(2). [More Information]
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Conferences
- Kasianenko, K., Boichak, O. (2025). "The Algorithm is Your Mom”: Playful Algorithmic Agency in the North Atlantic Fella Organization. AoIR2024 (Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers AoIR2024), Sheffield, UK: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
- Kong, Q., Calderon, P., Ram, R., Boichak, O., Rizoiu, M. (2022). Interval-censored Transformer Hawkes: Detecting Information Operations using the Reaction of Social Systems. The ACM Web Conference 2023, Austin, Texas, USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Boichak, O., Asmolov, G. (2021). Crowdfunding in remote conflicts: bounding the hyperconnected battlefield. 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers AoIR2021, Chicago: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
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Textual Creative Works
- Boichak, O. (2024). How Russia Invaded Wikipedia. FP, United States of America: F P Group. [More Information]
Film / Video
- Humphry, J., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O., Munro, K., Cundy, T. (2023). Youth Online Safety Resources. VDOD, Sydney, Australia: Youth Online Safety. [More Information]
- Chakraborty, R., Boichak, O. (2022). How Stalin starved Ukraine. YouTube, Washington, DC, United States of America: Voxmedia. [More Information]
Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Humphry, J., Page Jeffery, C., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O. (2024). Age verification for social media would impact all of us. We asked parents and kids if they actually want it. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2024). Crowdfunding is helping pay for Ukraine's military. 360. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2024). Disturbing content is the new social media norm, and with it a war of misinformation. The Sydney Morning Herald. [More Information]
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Report
- Hutchinson, J., Humphry, J., Boichak, O. (2021). Online Privacy Bill: Exposure Draft - Submission to the Attorney General's Department. [More Information]
Other
- Boichak, O. (2024), VIDEO: Kursk incursion raises questions over Putin's leadership. ABC News. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2024), What comes next after the Hezbollah pager attacks?. [More Information]
Research Reports
- Humphry, J., Boichak, O., Hutchinson, J. (2023). Emerging Online Safety Issues: Co-creating social media with young people, Australia. [More Information]
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2025
- Kasianenko, K., Boichak, O. (2025). "The Algorithm is Your Mom”: Playful Algorithmic Agency in the North Atlantic Fella Organization. AoIR2024 (Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers AoIR2024), Sheffield, UK: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
- Humphry, J., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O. (2025). Social digital dilemmas: Young people's and parents' negotiation of emerging online safety issues. New Media and Society. [More Information]
2024
- Humphry, J., Page Jeffery, C., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O. (2024). Age verification for social media would impact all of us. We asked parents and kids if they actually want it. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Kasianenko, K., Boichak, O. (2024). Canonizing online activism: Memetic iconography in the North Atlantic Fella Organization. Media, War and Conflict. [More Information]
- Boichak, O., Chesher, C. (2024). Convergent media: when MECO met Digital Cultures. In Agata Mrva-Montoya, Cheryl O'Byrne, and Pam Walker (Eds.), Inside Stories: 20 Years of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney, (pp. 45-56). Sydney: Sydney University Press.
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2023
- Humphry, J., Boichak, O., Hutchinson, J. (2023). Emerging Online Safety Issues: Co-creating social media with young people, Australia. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2023). Mapping the Russian Political Influence Ecosystem: The Night Wolves Biker Gang. Social Media + Society, 9(2). [More Information]
- Humphry, J., Hutchinson, J., Boichak, O., Munro, K., Cundy, T. (2023). Youth Online Safety Resources. VDOD, Sydney, Australia: Youth Online Safety. [More Information]
2022
- Boichak, O., Lokot, T. (2022). Billionaires Won't Save Ukraine's Internet. Foreign Policy. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2022). Camouflage aesthetics: militarisation, craftivism, and the in/ visibility of resistance at scale. Contemporary Voices, 3(1). [More Information]
- Chakraborty, R., Boichak, O. (2022). How Stalin starved Ukraine. YouTube, Washington, DC, United States of America: Voxmedia. [More Information]
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2021
- Boichak, O., Asmolov, G. (2021). Crowdfunding in remote conflicts: bounding the hyperconnected battlefield. 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers AoIR2021, Chicago: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2021). Digital War: Mediatized Conflicts in Sociological Perspective. In D. Rohlinger and S. Sobieraj (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Sociology and Digital Media, (pp. 511-527). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. [More Information]
- Stromer-Galley, J., Rossini, P., Kenski, K., McKernan, B., Clegg, B., Folkestad, J., Osterlund, C., Schooler, L., Boichak, O., Canzonetta, J., et al (2021). Flexible versus structured support for reasoning: enhancing analytical reasoning through a flexible analytic technique. Intelligence and National Security, 36(2), 279-298. [More Information]
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2020
- Lokot, T., Boichak, O. (2020). Exploring networked identity and transnational mobilization in Ukraine's Euromaidan protest. 21st Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers AoIR2020, Chicago: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2020). Mitigating diffused security risks in Australia's north: a case for digital inclusion. Strategic Insights, 163. [More Information]
2019
- Boichak, O., McKernan, B., Clegg, B., McCracken, N., Folkestad, J., Canzonetta, J., Taylor, S., Kenski, K., Osterlund, C., Stromer-Galley, J., et al (2019). Beyond the Medium: Rethinking Information Literacy through Crowdsourced Analysis. 52nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2019), Hawaii: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. [More Information]
- Boichak, O., Jackson, S. (2019). From national identity to state legitimacy: Mobilizing digitally networked publics in eastern Ukraine. Media, War and Conflict, 13(3), 258-279. [More Information]
- Boichak, O. (2019). Geopolitics of reproduction: Investigating technological mediation of maternity tourism on the Russian web. Big Data & Society, 6(2), 1-13. [More Information]
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2018
- Boichak, O., Jackson, S., Hemsley, J., Tanupabrungsun, S. (2018). Automated diffusion? Bots and their influence during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. 13th International Conference on Transforming Digital Worlds, iConference 2018, Berlin: Springer Verlag. [More Information]
2017
- Boichak, O. (2017). Battlefront volunteers: Mapping and deconstructing civilian resilience networks in Ukraine. 8th International International Conference on Social Media and Society, #SMSociety 2017, USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Jackson, S., Bryant, L., Stromer-Galley, J., Zhang, F., Li, Y., Semaan, B., Boichak, O., Hemsley, J., McCracken, N. (2017). Identifying Political Topics in Social Media Messages: A Lexicon-Based Approach. 8th International International Conference on Social Media and Society, #SMSociety 2017, USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Zhang, F., Robinson, J., Stromer-Galley, J., Tanupabrungsun, S., Semaan, B., Boichak, O., Hemsley, J., Bryant, L., Hegde, Y. (2017). Strategic Temporality on Social Media During the General Election of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign. 8th International International Conference on Social Media and Society, #SMSociety 2017, USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
Selected Grants
2024
- Digital sovereignty and colonialisms in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Boichak O, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)
2023
- Learning the meso-scale organization of complex networks, Altmann E, Alexander T, Boichak O, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP)
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Other funded research
- 2023 Developing Situational Awareness in the Information Environment (NARRATE) (with Marian-Andrei Rizoiu (lead), University of Technology Sydney). Funding: Australian Government, Department of Defence
- 2022 Emerging Online Safety Issues: Co-creating social media education with young people. Team members: Justine Humphry, Jonathon Hutchinson. Funded through the eSafety Commissioner
International Collaborations
- Professor Siva Vaidhyanathan, University of Virginia (2023)
- Dr Olesya Khromeychuk, Ukrainian Institute London (2023)
- Professor Andrew Hoskins, University of Glasgow (2023)
- Dr Tanya Lokot, Dublin City University (2022)
- Dr Gregory Asmolov, King's College London (2021)
In the media
- 29/01/2025 - quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald: Film festival defends screening of Ukraine war documentary branded Russian propaganda
- 15/01/2025 - interviewed on The Wire: Splinternet-Russia’s Online Soft Power
- 24/12/2024 - featured on ABC AM: Captured Australian legionnaire could become propaganda tool
- 22/10/2024 - quoted on ABC News: About 11,000 North Korean soldiers are being trained in Russia, Ukrainian officials claim
- 08/10/2024 - quoted on Formiche: Wiki-war. Quando il confronto tra Russia e Occidente passa dall’enciclopedia online
- 03/10/2024 - interviewed on ABC1 Melbourne about the on the war in Ukraine
- 09/10/2024 - interviewed on Logical Facts: History on repeat: Soviet disinformation's legacy in Russia's war on the West
- 03/10/2024 - interviewed on ABC News: Russia has captured Vuhledar after two years of Ukrainian resistance. How significant is the capture?
- 24/09/2024 - quoted on Impakter: Exploding Pagers Signal a New Age of Hybrid War
- 20/09/2024 - interviewed on Big News Network: Is the world ready for a new age of hybrid war?.
- 19/09/2024 - interviewed on 7 Sydney: Dr Olga Boichak on the Hezbollah pager explosions and weaponisation of digital tech in wars
- 18/05/2024 - quoted in the Daily Mail Australia (and widely syndicated): 'Red flag' over Russian operation targetting Aust media
- 18/05/2024 - quoted on AAPNews (and widely syndicated): 'Red flag' over Russian operation targetting Aust media
- 18/05/2024 - interviewed on BBC World News: Dr Olga Boichak on Meta's decision to ban Russian state media networks - BBC World News
- 16/09/2024 - research quoted in The Courier (Ballarat): Regional Australians facing a wave of social media misinformation
- 16/09/2024 - research quoted in The Courier (Ballarat): 'A rite of passage': how the gambling industry baits young Australians
- 09/09/2024 - interviewed on BBC World News: Dr Olga Boichak on Ukraine's Kursk incursion
- 08/08/2024 - featured in WorldNews: University of Sydney media scholar receives prestigious humanities medal (University of Sydney)
- 31/05/2025 - quoted on ABC News online: What is the 'All Eyes on Rafah' tren Does it matter if it's an AI generated illustration and not a photo?
- 27/05/2024 - article from The Conversation republished on Bounty: Age verification for social media: Aussie families weigh in on the debate
- 27/05/2024 - article from The Conversation republished on The Australia Today: Age verification for social media would impact all of us
- 22/05/2024 - article from The Conversation republished on Johansen: Age verification for social media would impact all of us. We asked parents and kids if they actually want it
- 24/04/2024 - guest on ABC 24 'ABC News Day' to talk abouthow young people navigate social media
- 25/03/2024 - quoted in Time (and widely syndicated): Palestinians Have Turned to Crowdfunding Platforms for Survival
- 24/02/2024 - interviewed on ABC Newsabout information also published in the 360 article: Crowdfunding is helping pay for Ukraine's military
- 27/12/2023 - guest on on SBS News: Death by Metadata: How Artificial Intelligence is used to kill people
- 24/12/2023 - quoted on SBS News: Un-Orthodox: Why Ukraine snubbed Russia and moved Christmas
- 20/12/2023 - guest on CNA: News consumers torn between being informed and protecting mental wellbeing: Panel
- 01/12/2023 - quoted in Kyiv Post: Virtual Reality Brings War Up Close for Non-Ukrainians
- 07/11/2023 - quoted in The Daily Telegraph: Debate over distressing social media content of Israeli-Palestinian war
- 07/11/2023 - guest on ABC RN Drive: Will Ukraine hold elections in 2024?
- 12/10/2023 - quoted on CNA: As fake news flood social media over Israel-Hamas war, observers call for more regulatory pressures on tech firms
- 12/10/2023 - quoted in Daily Mail Australia (Widely syndicated internationally): Misinformation mires Australia's Indigenous rights referendum
- 12/10/2023 - interviewed on CNA: Resistance of social media companies impedes regulation and content moderation: Analyst
- 06/09/2023 - guest on ABC Listen: Volodymyr Zelenskyy: "Exactly the right man"
- 28/08/2023 - Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme funding success reported in Mirage News: Early career researchers awarded $5.1m funding
- 04/08/2023 - panel member for ADM+S Centre: Eyewitness Now: New Ways of Seeing the News
- 20/07/2023 - interviewed in The Canberra Times (syndicated from Australian Associated Press): Memories of Ukraine students who never got to graduate. Article also syndicated on yahoo!news
- 28/06/2023 - interviewed on 360info.org: Video: How the Ukraine war is being fought on TikTok
- 09/06/2023 - interviewed on ABC News:Concerns Kakhovka Dam destruction has washed landmines downstream
- 05/06/2023 - interviewed on ABC (News Breakfast): Olga Boichak on the war in Ukraine, fifteen months on
- 24/02/2023 - interviewed in France24: ‘World’s first TikTok war’: Ukraine’s social media campaign ‘a question of survival’
- 12/02/2023 - interviewed by CNN International: Russia's War on Ukraine: Elon Musk's company limits Ukraine's use of Starlink
- 05/02/2023 - Sydney Ideas talk Ukraine: the country that surprised the world that Olga hosted was reported on in The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Inaction supports Putin’s escalation’: World must keep standing up to Russia, historian says
- 12/10/2022 - interviewed on ABC News: G7 meeting critical for Ukraine after Russian missile attacks
- 08/10/2022 - interviewed in The Canberra Times: Russia-Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin is losing on morale and momentum, but over a nuclear cliff?
- 25/09/2022 - interviewed on SkyNews: The Alliance
- 16/09/2022 - mentioned in The Au Review: Review: Antidote at the Sydney Opera House raises more questions than it answers but it will make you hungry for change
- 12/09/2022 - guest on ABC triplej Hack: Ukraine strikes back
- 05/09/2022 - quoted in Pedestrian: A Melb Mural Was Hastily Removed After Ukraine Community Slammed It As ‘Utterly Offensive’
- 05/09/2022 - interviewed on ABC NEWS The World Today: Artist stands by "utterly offensive" mural
- 04/09/2022 - quoted in The Guardian: Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia calls for removal of ‘offensive’ mural of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers
- 04/09/2022 - quoted in The Age: Artist to paint over ‘utterly offensive’ Melbourne mural after Ukrainian community anger
- 03/09/2022 - quoted in Newsweek: Mural of Ukrainian and Russian Soldiers Sparks Fury: 'Highly Offensive'
- 24/08/2022 - interviewed on ABC News The World Today: High alert for attacks as Ukraine marks independence anniversary
- 13/07/2022 - quoted in The Australian: Making sense of social data
- 17/06/2022 - mentioned in TheSydney Morning Herald article: Russia sanctions hundreds of Australians including journalists
- 08/03/2022 - quoted in the Los Angeles Times: ‘I want to donate to the Ukrainian military.’ Crowdfunding becomes part of Ukraine’s arsenal
- 08/03/2022 - interviewed on ABC Radio PM: New sanctions target Russian propaganda
- 04/03/2022 - interviewed on ABC Radio PM: "Nuclear terror" in Ukraine, as fire erupts at power plant
- 03/03/2022 - panel member on ABC TV Q+A: What is the West willing to sacrifice for Ukraine?
- 03/03/2022 - quoted on ABC News Online: Fact checkers have been busy debunking Russian misinformation related to Ukraine, but that's not the only place it has come from
- 02/03/2022 - quoted on ABC News Online: A 64-kilometre-long Russian military convoy is approaching Kyiv. Here's what we know so far
- 28/02/2022 - interviewed by ABC RN Breakfast (Patricia Karvelas): From TV President to national hero: Ukraine's President Zelensky
- 28/02/2022 - interviewed on yahoo!news: Ukrainian driver mocks Russian soldiers broken down on road
- 24/02/2022 - quoted in The Daily Telegraph - Online: Next Ukraine city in Russia’s sight
- 21/02/2022 - interviewed by ABC News 24's morning news program: Scholar says 'Russia is trying to deny Ukraine's nationhood'
- 17/02/2022 - interviewed by SBS News: Are backstage diplomatic efforts averting conflict between Ukraine and Russia? (by Eden Gillespie)
- 15/02/2022 - spoke with ABC News Radio Drive Show’s Paul Turton (live) on civilian resilience in Ukraine and the economic implications of the current buildup (02:34-02:46)
- 15/02/2022 - interviewed on Bloomberg TV's Daybreak Australia discussing the Ukraine Crisis developments and their potential implications on global food security
- 14/02/2022 - interviewed by ABC News for The World Today: A steady march towards the brink of war in Ukraine
- 14/02/2022 - appeared on ABC News Breakfast discussing domestic developments surrounding the Ukraine Crisis and potential global responses to the escalation
- 09/02/2022 - spoke with ABC News Radio’s Drive (live) with Anna Moulder on the possible Ukraine conflict scenarios and emergency preparedness in the country (1:08-1:25).
- 08/02/2022 - appeared in 2SER 107.3 The Wire (live) with Nelson Scott on the consequences of the Ukraine Crisis and why it is in Australia’s national interest to support young democracies (13:10-18:50)
- 07/02/2022 - featured in story - The Wire: How Australia May Involve Itself In Ukraine-Russia Conflict
- 02 February 2022 - interviewed by SBS Ukrainian: Dr Olga Boichak on Social media, media literacy, digital wars, diasporas, and more ...
- 24/01/2022 - BloombergTV, Daybreak Australia (live): The University of Sydney’s Boichak on U.S.-Russia Geopolitics
- 25/01/2022 - ABC News Radio with Thomas Oriti (live): Federal Government Urges Australians in Ukraine to Leave Now
- 25/01/2022 - 4KQ and 79.3 in Brisbane with Abbey Smith on the Ukraine Crisis
- 25/01/2022 - ABC Evening News (live) with Karina Carvalho
- 25/01/2022 - quoted in The Daily Telegraph: Ukraine crisis: Europe bracing for war and Russia-Ukraine conflict: Why the West must act
- 25/01/2022 - quoted in ABC News story with Max Walden: Australians in Ukraine describe 'two different realities' as life continues amid threat of Russian invasion
- 13/01/2021 - featured in The Sydney Morning Herald 'Explainer: Technology & democracy': 'Wild West': Who regulates social media and what's Parler? (by Sherryn Groch)
- 13/01/2021 - spoke to ABC NewsRadio’s Sarah Hall (live): 'Twitter locks U.S. President Donald Trump's social media account':
