Josh Bullock

This study examines public sentiment towards policing in England expressed in relation to a viral 13-second social media altercation on X (formerly Twitter) on 17 November 2023 involving Metropolitan Police officers in Kingston upon Thames, London. A dataset of 5416 interactions was extracted via NodeXL and analysed for group clustering, sentiment categorisation, and emotional lexicon mapping. Sentiment analysis revealed an overwhelming prevalence of negative sentiment, with anger and disgust as the most frequently expressed emotions. Emoji analysis reinforced these sentiments, with laughter ( , ) and sarcasm ( , ) used to mock the police, while terms such as ‘wet wipes’ and ‘chocolate teapot’ were used to describe their perceived ineffectiveness. We argue that this discourse presents a challenge to police attempts to manage their image and has the potential to undermine public perceptions of police legitimacy more generally. At present much of the debate about police legitimacy focuses on issues of procedural justice and moral alignment; however, we argue that the perception of police ineffectiveness is an equally significant challenge. Through an analysis of a viral police altercation in London, we demonstrate how digital discourse frames the police as ineffective, weak, and lacking authority. The case study highlights how social media facilitates real-time scrutiny of police actions, amplifying debates about systemic failures in policing, gendered stereotypes about law enforcement, and broader concerns about social order in modern Britain. This demonstrates the considerable challenge of police image work in digital society, and we argue that, at the moment, the Metropolitan Police are failing the ‘social media test’.

This article explores pub psychic nights in Britain. The audience of these events are predominantly working- class women who gather in local pubs and social clubs to participate in spirit communication led by a medium and/or psychic. Drawing on qualitative data from 16 interviews and four participant observations we examine the social and spiritual significance of these events for the audience, arguing that they have a profound impact in helping people deal with grief and loss, extending far beyond mere entertainment. We further argue that pub psychic nights create an opportunity to address existential questions and seek comfort outside of traditional religious institutions. We demonstrate how these nights blur the boundaries between the ordinary and the extraordinary and transform historically male-dominated pub spaces into local hubs of female- led spirituality. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of contemporary spiritual practices and their significance for marginalized communities.

The rise of nationalism and populism in Europe has created significant political and policy challenges. Understanding and addressing these challenges will require attention to the psychological mechanisms and social dynamics that have engendered and promoted these societal shifts. This article presents the results of two new empirical studies that attempt to shed light on the relationships between nationalism, religiosity, national and religious identification, threat perception, and sentiment toward different groups. Informed by identity fusion theory and moral foundations theory, Study 1 collected and analysed survey data on these topics. Study 2 utilized the results of Study 1 to construct a system dynamics model in which causal propositions and links are added to the variables, creating an artificial society within which hypotheses about these dynamics can be tested. Both the survey and the simulation suggest that nationalism and religion are affected by the same variables. As such, religion might not be a cause of nationalism (or nationalism the cause of religion), but they could be correlated because of mutual causation.

Understanding vaccine hesitancy has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic as governments around the globe have been struggling to convince portions of their populations to participate in vaccination protocols. Here we report on a nationally representative survey of the United Kingdom in which data revealed that individuals showed more willingness to take fictitious vaccines (putatively produced by the US government Medicare program and the now defunct healthcare company Theranos) than to take the Sputnik and Sinovac vaccines (developed by the Russian and Chinese governments respectively). The data indicate that the critical factor in vaccine hesitancy among the respondents was anxiety rather than familiarity with vaccines.