Rob Topinka

lurker. digital culture & politics at Birkbeck, Uni of London. report: book: pod:

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

I was on Today in Focus talking about how the meme phrase the 'Boriswave' commits those who use it - including in mainstream politic and journalism - to an ideological framing with roots in the Great Replacement theory, whether they are aware of it or not.
https://t.co/TOPo4P16nk

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

@seanphelan8 I'm impacting, I'm engaging, I'm doing what I can!

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

happy to report that the world is now so stupid that my knowledge of shitposting has become valuable enough to publish in the Guardian.

My favorite part is I got it in print that JD Vance is a try-hard who can't even shitpost properly
https://t.co/mUKhd6PJjM

[أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif @AnasAlSharif0]

This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.

I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.

I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.

I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.

I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.

I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith.

I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.

Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.

Anas Jamal Al-Sharif
06.04.2025

This is what our beloved Anas requested to be published upon his martyrdom.

[Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana]

Martin Forde concluded Labour operates a hierarchy of racism, where anti-Black racism & Islamophobia are brushed aside.

Now we have a Prime Minister who mimicked Enoch Powell with “island of strangers” & suspended the UK’s first Black woman MP twice.

It’s institutional racism.

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

Was on Channel 4 to talk Trump, MAGA meltdown and the Epstein files.

my body goes into powersave mode on Zoom calls but I managed to explain that Trump screwed up, the Dems are still hopeless, and true believer posters will go on posting
https://t.co/ULdzwQXCb0

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

From Kier Starmer acquiescing to Tommy Robinson over grooming gangs, to the NYTimes sourcing Zohran Mamdani hit pieces from eugenicists, extremism is now ambient. Had a chance to talk about it at the Amiel & Melburn Trust lecture...
https://t.co/mI1BjUYrZS

[Liam Shrivastava @LiamShrivastava]

The Amiel & Melburn Annual lecture is happening this Wednesday!

A stellar lineup discussing how the Left can resist the Rise of the Radical Right, hosted at @BirkbeckUoL

Some free tickets still available 👇https://t.co/VxmAvP0ClA

[Aaron Winter @aaronzwinter]

Looking forward to this webinar tomorrow: AI & the Far-Right Riots in the UK

@BeatrizBuarqueR (LSE)
@aaronzwinter (Lancaster)
Allysa Czerwinsky (Manchester)
@AshKingdon (Southampton)
@julie_renbe (Oxford)
@MeropiTzanet (Manchester)
@robtopinka (Birkbeck)

https://t.co/VmkKVOyCq1

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

In Amsterdam today to talk ‘ambient extremism,’ (especially on this app), the incoherence of reactionary digital politics, and the rhetoric of outrage (a more ambient and more readily purged passion than ressentiment).

Streaming from 5pm CET.

https://t.co/2byMAMWfCO

[Liam Shrivastava @LiamShrivastava]

🚨EVENT: Amiel & Melburn Lecture 2025

A very special panel discussion on 'Resisting the rise of the Radical Right' with @zarahsultana @CostasDouzinas @robtopinka @KojoKoram @IRR_News @afoggyplace

🗓️Wed 2 July
🕠17:30PM
📍@BirkbeckUoL

INFO & REGISTER 👇
https://t.co/a30WO8GQSp

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

@gavinmuellerphd @idilgalip @ProfAFinlayson excited to see this in print!

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

@TanyaSerisier congratulations Tanya! very well deserved.

[Christopher O'Neill @internet_chris]

ICYMI - I have a translation of a “new” Michel Foucault essay, “Message or Noise?” (1966), as well as a commentary on “Foucault and Information Theory”, now available open access in @parrhesiajrnl https://t.co/V1pdnEfHuT

[BISA at Birkbeck @bisa_bbk]

Dr Spencer Sunshine (@transform6789) will discuss ‘Neo-Nazi terrorism and countercultural fascism’ at @BirkbeckUoL on 20 June. Book your ticket here: https://t.co/MgYkYiaJRB

[Goldsmiths UCU @GoldsmithsUCU]

📢STRIKE ALERT:
How dare management @GoldsmithsUoL
Silence us in-person
Mute us online
Reduce us to numbers on spreadsheets
Insult our intelligence w/ their sham consultations.
We are downing tools.
We are withdrawing our labour.
Support our strike!
https://t.co/gEXV6PAEcD

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

@doctorow I don’t know about pigeon toe, but for kids w/ talipes the “boots and bars” mean the difference between walking or not, a lifetime of foot problems or not.

My dad was treated surgically & has terrible pain. My son’s talipes (hopefully) won’t affect him.

https://t.co/o62M9ew7Ap

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

“There’s a chance that without intervention, the higher education model may accidentally evolve … into a two-tier system based on who can afford to attend university.”

True except for the accident part. https://t.co/4QCkTgapXz

[Rob Topinka @robtopinka]

'While we should worry about the conduit from toxic manosphere fringe to teen-friendly TikTok fare, if the plan was to brainwash a new generation, it doesn’t seem to be working very well. In fact, sigmas have become a bit of a laughing stock.'