ELLIS CASHMORE
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elliscashmore.bsky.social
ELLIS CASHMORE
@elliscashmore.bsky.social
330 followers 170 following 400 posts
Author of "The Destruction and Creation of Michael Jackson" (above), "Elizabeth Taylor" (both published by Bloomsbury) and "Celebrity Culture" (Routledge, now in its 3rd edition). Regular contributor to Fair Observer magazine.
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elliscashmore.bsky.social
Australia’s idiotic social media ban was always unpoliceable, easily evaded & perversely seductive to teenagers. Now parts of Europe are lining up to copy it — proof that bad policy travels fast.
fairobserver.com/business/tec...

#SocialMedia #TechPolicy #DigitalRegulation
February 8, 2026 at 4:32 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
SHOULD FIFA PULL THE WORLD CUP OUT OF THE US?⚽️Read in #FairObserver: fairobserver.com/culture/shou...
#WorldCup2026 #FIFA #DonaldTrump #Infantino #SportsPolitics @fanseurope.org
@bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social
@iscsupporters.bsky.social
@lasparks.bsky.social
@theathleticfc.bsky.social
Should FIFA Pull the World Cup Out of the US?
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter is urging fans to boycott the 2026 World Cup in the United States, citing recent civil unrest..
fairobserver.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by ELLIS CASHMORE
f24debate.france24.com
“He'll use it as a stage for his politics.”

Amid #ICE crackdown in #Minnesota, @elliscashmore.bsky.social highlights what we can expect from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance
February 2, 2026 at 5:48 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
“Why didn’t she just leave?”
This article asks a harder, unsettling question: how does sexual exploitation take hold and endure for decades – without chains? fairobserver.com/culture/sexu... @myfairobserver.bsky.social
#SexualExploitation #Agency #Power #CoerciveControl #Sociology #Gender #Abuse
Sexual Exploitation — Why Leaving Is Not So Simple
A woman was coerced into sexual exploitation for over 30 years through invisible captivity that eroded her agency without physical restraint.
fairobserver.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:30 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Brooklyn may have shattered the illusion of the Beckhams as the “perfect happy family” — but don’t expect our fascination to fade. If anything, it just intensified.
🔗 fairobserver.com/culture/why-...
via @myfairobserver

#Beckhams #CelebrityCulture #Fame #Family #Media
Why Do the Beckhams Still Fascinate Us?
Where most celebrities rise, saturate the media and fade, former football star David Beckham remains in the limelight.
fairobserver.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:56 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
From broadcast schedules to algorithmic attention: YouTube didn’t just disrupt television — it reordered everyday media life — a theme familiar to readers of
@theoryculturesociety.org
@bjsociology.bsky.social
@sagesaga.bsky.social
🔗 fairobserver.com/business/tec...
#Sociology #Culture #MediaPower
YouTubing Reality
Since its inception in 2007, YouTube has evolved from a simple video-sharing site into the world’s dominant media platform,
fairobserver.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:17 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Is TV dead? Gen Z has already moved on — and YouTube is where attention now lives.
If you study media, culture, or sociology, you’ll want to read this
🔗 fairobserver.com/business/tec...

#MediaStudies #Sociology #CulturalStudies #SocialScience #Students

via @myfairobserver.bsky.social
YouTubing Reality
Since its inception in 2007, YouTube has evolved from a simple video-sharing site into the world’s dominant media platform,
fairobserver.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:09 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Brigitte Bardot was once a global fantasy — and later a lightning rod for hate.
Can we love the art when we reject the artist?
My new piece for @myfairobserver
coming soon.
#BrigitteBardot #Culture #Ethics
January 1, 2026 at 12:24 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
If we’re serious about inclusiveness, why do we still divide honours between Knights and Dames? Let’s modernise Britain: everyone “Sir.” Or (why not?) “Dame.” #UKHonours #Gender #Inclusivity #Equality #Britain #Politics #Culture #Satire #DameIdrisElba
December 30, 2025 at 4:39 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
The #AllBlacks once dominated world rugby. But now #SouthAfrica have assumed control. Where once players were drawn from 4.5m whites, today they come from 65 million. NZ must feel how the rest of the world has felt for the past 100 years.
#RugbyUnion #Springboks ##NewZealand #RWC
December 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
WHY CHILDREN KILL: THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE DEATH OF ROB REINER
Reiner and his wife were found dead in their Brentwood home. Their son Nick is charged with their murders. Why?

Read now in #FairObserver ⬇️
🔗 www.fairobserver.com/culture/why-...
Why Children Kill: The Incomprehensible Death of Rob Reiner
Director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their home. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged...
www.fairobserver.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:29 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
BREAKING: Widow Twankey may vanish from Aladdin pantos after complaints she’s “misogynistic and demeaning.” British Christmas traditions brace for another makeover. 🎭
#Pantomime #WidowTwankey #Christmas #Culture #Tradition #UK #Aladdin #Aladdin-sane
December 22, 2025 at 3:50 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Joshua v Paul. Sabalenka v Kyrgios. When you grow up on UFC hype, WWE logic, reality TV & influencer culture, a YouTuber fighting an Olympic champ no longer feels sacrilegious. The line between “sport” and “entertainment”?
#Joshua Paul #Netflix #Tennis #SportBusiness #SportsMedia
December 19, 2025 at 5:39 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Bank manager: So, Mr McDonald, you’re applying for a $50,000 loan to attend next year’s World Cup finals. I quite understand — ticket prices, accommodation and travel will be eye-wateringly expensive.

Unfortunately, your council flat doesn’t really qualify as collateral
#WorldCup ⚽️ #FIFA #Football
December 15, 2025 at 2:16 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
“Ronaldo is the only foreign player worth what he earns because of the global exposure he brings.”
— former Saudi sports minister

What does that tell us about football now?

👉 www.fairobserver.com/culture/cris...

#SportsBusiness #GlobalExposure #FootballEconomics #Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo in the New Media Ecosystem
Cristiano Ronaldo is the best-known, best-followed, best-paid and possibly just best football player in the world. But is...
www.fairobserver.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:52 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Egypt and Iran are furious that Seattle will host a ‘Pride Match’ when they play each other at the World Cup. Maybe they should withdraw in protest.”

@fifaclubworldcup.bsky.social om @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social eFWC26 @BBC @itvfootball.bsky.social tball #WorldCup2026 #PrideMatch #LGBTQ #Football
December 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Egypt & Iran are furious that #Seattle will host a Pride Match when they play each other at #WorldCup2026. Perfectly reasonable, of course — they’re only asking them to ditch #LGBTQ+ celebrations and follow medieval religious doctrine for the afternoon.
#Pride @FIFAcom
@ussoccer.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:38 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
In 1920, a politician declared: “The USA is leading the world with this imaginative legislation: everyone will follow us in banning alcohol. You wait — Prohibition will end drinking forever.” 🍷
#ForbiddenFruit @SkyNewsAust
@9NewsAUS
@7NewsAustralia
@abcnewsaustralia.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
🇦🇺Australia’s senseless under-16 social media ban kicks in.
My piece in @FairObserver explains why this doomed law will backfire spectacularly:
fairobserver.com/business/tec...
@abcnews4.com

#AusPol #SocialMediaBan #TeensOnline #DigitalRights #YouthCulture #Meta #Australia
Australia’s Idiotic Social Media Ban
Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 is set to take effect on December 10 — becoming the world’s first prohibition...
fairobserver.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:32 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
82% of Brits want #Israel excluded from #Eurovision2026. New poll shows 7 in 10 back a UK boycott after the EBU cleared Israel to compete. Ireland, Spain, Slovenia & the Netherlands have already pulled out over #Gaza. #BBC backs Israel’s inclusion. The public doesn’t. #UKPolitics
December 9, 2025 at 3:47 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
#Eurovision edges toward a crisis of its own making. Boycotts aren’t always effective, but they're symbolic & #Spain’s withdrawal may be the 1st crack in the façade. #EBU could've taken a vote on #Israel, as it did with Russia. Now it risks a domino effect that could sink 2026.
December 4, 2025 at 7:09 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
If West Mids Police ban an entire fanbase on discredited claims & still insist “we haven’t made anything fit,” the Q isn’t whether someone should resign — it’s who goes 1st ... and #Birmingham wants to host the Women’s World Cup? #Accountability #MaccabiTelAviv #WomensWorldCup
December 1, 2025 at 5:48 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
#Birmingham bids to host games in #WomensWorldCup. "Just one thing," says head of West Midlands Police. "We won't be allowing away fans."
Er, they're probably ALL away fans, chief.
"In that case, our force will have a few quiet nights."
#Football #WWC #FIFA #WestMidlandsPolice
November 30, 2025 at 3:44 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Twelve days until Australia’s idiotic social-media ban kicks in. We should thank the Aussies for volunteering as the canaries in the coal pit — with similar fates.
fairobserver.com/business/tec...

#AusPol #SocialMediaBan #DigitalRights #Australia #Meta #TeensOnline

via @myfairobserver.bsky.social
Australia’s Idiotic Social Media Ban
Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 is set to take effect on December 10 — becoming the world’s first prohibition...
fairobserver.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:52 PM
elliscashmore.bsky.social
Australia’s Idiotic Social Media Ban ... why it's doomed to fail.
fairobserver.com/business/tec...
@handle.invalid mau.bsky.social
@theheraldo.bsky.social dsun.bsky.social
@australia.theguardian.com
@skynewsrss.bsky.social sky.social
@brisbanetimes.bsky.social
@canberratimes.bsky.social
Australia’s Idiotic Social Media Ban
Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 is set to take effect on December 10 — becoming the world’s first prohibition...
fairobserver.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:49 PM