On July 17, 2025, a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert captured Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot embracing, prompting viral speculation of an affair. The lead singer’s on-stage comment, "Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy”, as well as the couple’s obvious alarm at being caught on camera,... Continue Reading →
Framing Gorbachev: How World Leaders Reacted to the Death of Mikhail Gorbachev
On Wednesday, August 31st, it was announced that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev died aged 91. As is the case with any major event, different news outlets narrated Gorbachev’s differently. Newspapers, websites and bloggers all adopted different narratives, or frames when depicting Gorbachev . For instance, the BBC headline read “Mikhail Gorbachev: Last Soviet leader... Continue Reading →
Biden Goes Viral; But Not Among Diplomats
On January 20th, as President Joe Biden took the Oath of Office, he also gained control of the @POTUS Twitter account (President of the United States), one of the most followed accounts on Twitter. Both his predecessors had amassed a vast following online with Donald Trump reaching some 90 million followers and Barack Obama 137... Continue Reading →
Do World Leaders attract #digital diplomats? 2016 analysis
Two weeks ago I evaluated the extent to which Donald Trump has been able to attract diplomats, MFAs, embassies and foreign affairs journalists to his Twitter account. My analysis suggested that most digital diplomats, and diplomatic institutions, do not follow Trump online. This week, I decided to expand my analysis and see if world leaders... Continue Reading →
Are World Leaders Arriving at COP21 as King Diplomats?
NOTE: This blog first appeared on http://www.cop21live.com In a fascinating article published in 2015, scholar Piki Ish-Shalom argued that world leaders have begun to take charge of the routine workings of diplomacy rather than limiting their involvement in diplomacy to times of crises. According to Ish-Shalom, world leaders are now King Diplomats. King Diplomats have long... Continue Reading →