Author: Tristan Hotham

• How I used AI to rebuild my website, and where it needed a human

  

  A plain account of using AI assistants to redesign, move and tidy this site: what worked, what went wrong, and what I would check next time.

  Tristan Hotham

  October 8, 2026

  Politics

• Short Explainer – Is political campaigning online too focused on a few platforms?

  

  Online political campaigning is concentrated on a handful of platforms. A short explainer on why, and what it means for democracy.

  Tristan Hotham

  November 2, 2023

  Politics

  Campaigning, digital communication, election campaigning, Social Media

• Short explainer – What psychological tactics are used in political advertising and what are the implication?

  

  Emotional appeals, fear and other psychological tactics in political advertising, and why they matter for democratic debate.

  Tristan Hotham

  December 20, 2022

  Campaigning, Politics

  campaign finance reform, campaign strategy, data analytics, door-to-door campaigning, emotional appeals, endorsements, ethics in political advertising, fear appeals, Misinformation, negative imagery, negative language, personal attacks, political advertising, psychological tactics, Social Media, storytelling, voter behavior

• Short explainer – Virtual members? How political party membership is changing.

  

  Parties increasingly court online supporters who never formally join. What virtual membership offers and where it falls short.

  Tristan Hotham

  December 18, 2022

  Followers, Short Explainer, Virtual Members

  astroturfing, community, digital communication, election campaigning, engagement, facebook adverts, funding, influence, mobilization, participation, political parties, Social Media, transparency, Virtual membership

• Short explainer – Janus-faced campaigning. What is it and why does it matter in the social media age?

  

  Showing different faces to different audiences: what Janus-faced campaigning is and why social media makes it easier.

  Tristan Hotham

  December 18, 2022

  2019 General Election, Janus Faced Campaigning, Politics, Social Media

  2019 General Election, digital communication, facebook adverts, Janus Faced Campaigning, Politics, Social Media, twitter