Nigel Farage’s recent announcement that his party would pursue mass deportation if elected to government came as a shock to many. Even Farage had once described this extreme idea as a “political impossibility” in the UK. But the proposal didn’t fall out of a clear blue sky. It’s an example of what some researchers call “audience capture” tactics.

In this case, radical and far-right social media accounts amplify narratives that suit their agenda and make it look as though they have mass appeal. Politicians that straddle radical politics and the mainstream (such as Farage) then absorb the information and start to see it as a desirable path to follow. Find out how this information flows via this analysis.

Also today, the big problem with proposals to abolish stamp duty. And Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have seen out the war in Gaza, but can he survive the peace that follows?

Laura Hood

Senior Politics Editor, Assistant Editor

Alamy/Paul Smyth

Inside the far-right social media ecosystem normalising extremist ideas in UK politics

Ed Harrison, University of Bath; Olivia Brown, University of Bath

A process of normalisation has led Reform to propose mass deportations where once it believed such a policy would never be politically viable.

sirtravelalot/Shutterstock

The real reason abolishing stamp duty won’t help first-time buyers

Nigel Gilbert, University of Surrey; Corinna Elsenbroich, University of Glasgow; Yahya Gamal, University of Glasgow

Compared to a deposit, stamp duty is often a small cost – but axing it would cost the government billions a year.

Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the White House in September 29. Will Oliver / EPA

Can Netanyahu survive peace?

John Strawson, University of East London

Netanyahu is turning his attention to upcoming elections.

World

Putin’s forever war against the west

Jonathan Este, The Conversation

Drone incursions, cyber attacks, election interference: they are all part of a strategy aiming to wear down Russia’s percieved enemies.
Russia now has a strategy for a permanent state of hybrid war

Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham

A new report suggests Russia’s foreign policy strategy is to ‘stop worrying and love the disorder’.

Politics + Society

The BBC is a partisan battleground – why does Japan’s public broadcaster escape the same fate?

Steven David Pickering, Brunel University of London; Martin Ejnar Hansen, Brunel University of London; Yosuke Sunahara, Kobe University

The BBC commands middling levels of trust overall, but those levels are deeply polarised.
What the Caerphilly byelection could reveal about Reform, Labour and Wales’ political future

Marc Collinson, Bangor University; Robin Mann, Bangor University

The Senedd byelection tests shifting loyalties in postindustrial Wales, and the strength of Labour, Plaid Cymru and Reform.

Arts + Culture

Guillermo de Toro’s Frankenstein: beguiling adaptation stays true to heart of Mary Shelley’s story

Sharon Ruston, Lancaster University

Guillermo del Toro’s retelling of the story about a scientist trying to create life is a visual treat and a rousing adaptation.
Van Gogh and the Roulins: a family reunion of the artist’s greatest portraits

Frances Fowle, University of Edinburgh

Van Gogh sought to evoke the character and soul of the sitter.

Education
Four-year-olds don’t need to sit still to be ‘school ready’ Lucy Sors, York St John University; Louise Whitfield, York St John University Children need physical play to develop their strength, coordination, and motor skills.

Environment

Drought, sand storms and evacuations: how Iran’s climate crisis gets ignored

Sanam Mahoozi, City St George's, University of London

Tehran is facing its worst water shortages for ten years, but there is little reporting on it outside Iran.
Why climate summits fail – and three ways to save them

Francesco Grillo, Bocconi University

The UN and its climate conferences are slow, cumbersome and undemocratic.

Health

Ibuprofen: how an everyday drug might offer protection against cancer

Dipa Kamdar, Kingston University; Ahmed Elbediwy, Kingston University; Nadine Wehida, Kingston University

A supermarket painkiller could change how we think about inflammation and disease.
Which cooking oil is best? Asking how they’re made could tell you more

Serge Wich, Liverpool John Moores University; Erik Meijaard, University of Kent

The often-heated and frequently misinformed debate on vegetable oils misses the real point.
Quadrobics: is the trend for walking on all fours like an animal good for your fitness?

Dan Gordon, Anglia Ruskin University

‘Quadrobics’ uses all four of your limbs during a workout by replicating an animal’s movements.

Podcasts
The hidden sources of forever chemicals leaking into rivers – and what to do about them Gemma Ware, The Conversation Water scientist Patrick Byrne tells The Conversation Weekly podcast what testing rivers can reveal about the biggest, often hidden, sources of PFAS pollution.

More newsletters from The Conversation for you:

World Affairs Briefing • Imagine climate action • Global Economy & Business • Europe newsletter • Something Good • Politics Weekly

About The Conversation

We're a nonprofit news organisation dedicated to helping academic experts share ideas with the public. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of universities and readers like you.