I grew up on “Nightline with Ted Koppel,” “60 Minutes” with Dan Fairly and Andy Rooney, and “Meet the Press” with Tim Russert. By the point I used to be in center college, I used to be quizzed by my mom on information articles from our every day papers, The Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
As you’ll be able to inform, I used to be raised in a home dominated by information and was bred to be a present occasions nerd. Nonetheless, now I get my information from extra sources than I may listing – not simply because there are extra choices accessible to me, however as a result of I hardly ever belief something I learn or hear.
We have been far too trusting again within the day, and due to it, the character of journalism has turn into much less about fact and extra about energy. However one man is making an attempt to save lots of journalism for humanity – Elon Musk.
It’s media’s management of what to put in writing about within the first place that’s way more insidious than having some details flawed in an article
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2023
The Fact Hurts
Elon Musk might be any company lawyer’s nightmare. In contrast to different CEOs, Elon lets his ideas come out willy-nilly, unfiltered, and infrequently whereas he’s on the bathroom tweeting away his musings on cryptocurrency, killer memes, and free speech. (Most likely.)
Since his takeover of Twitter, he’s been grinding the gears of “journalists” from close to and much, a lot to my pleasure and leisure. Just lately he incensed the powers that be when he slapped the “state-affiliated” label on NPR, PBS, and the BBC, placing them in the identical group as Russian and Chinese language media on Twitter.
When the three threw a match, declaring they’d take their toys and stomp off the Twitter playground – in a transfer of sheer hilarity, Musk modified their label to “government-funded.” You may hear the exasperated gasps from these three epically boring and long-time irrelevant media organizations.
In fact, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out Musk’s current transfer taking away the Grey Girl’s blue test mark as a result of the New York Instances wouldn’t pony up the month-to-month price.
After the test mark was eliminated, Should tweeted:
“the true tragedy of @NYTimes is that their propaganda isn’t even attention-grabbing.”
Additionally, their feed is the Twitter equal of diarrhea. It’s unreadable.
They’d have way more actual followers in the event that they solely posted their prime articles.
Similar applies to all publications.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023
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Sick and correct burn, Musk. So what’s Elon’s beef with mainstream media anyway?
What’s The Level
At a convention earlier this 12 months, Musk dropped this gem of a fact bomb:
“I’m unsure what the legacy media does… at this level.”
You and me each, brother. However like something that comes out of Musk’s mouth, there’s a aim in thoughts.
On the similar convention, Elon explained his final plan for Twitter:
“We wish it to be… basically the place you go to study what’s occurring and get the true story.”
RELATED: Elon Musk is Really Getting Under the Fake News’ Skin. Good.
However wait a minute Elon, isn’t Twitter already the place we go to get the true story?
According to Deputy Director of NYU Stern’s Middle for Enterprise and Human Rights Paul Barrett, earlier than Elon acquired the blue chicken, Twitter was:
“plugged into what’s occurring immediately within the information” and what a “sure set of influential persons are saying in regards to the information”
Now that Elon has taken over, you’d assume he had turned it right into a dumpster fireplace as a result of as an alternative of stifling voices that go towards the mainstream, he’s allowed them to coexist in the identical area as the massive boys. However the fact isn’t going to return from the institution “journos,” so who will assist Elon rely on to get out “the true story”?
NEWS: Elon Musk states that conventional media covers Twitter negatively as a result of they compete for a similar advert {dollars}. pic.twitter.com/hyWazb9EKA
— T(w)itter Each day Information (@TitterDaily) April 18, 2023
The Little Guys
So if not your commonplace information shops, who’s Elon counting on to be the bastions of fact in a sea of, as he would most likely describe it… diarrhea? The women and men on the market who’ve discovered to convey you the information with only a fancy smartphone, clip-on mic, and a hoop gentle – the citizen journalist.
However his dream doesn’t come simple, as he explained:
“As Twitter pursues the aim of elevating citizen journalism, media elite will attempt the whole lot to cease that from occurring.”
RELATED: Musk’s Revenge: Twitter Slaps NPR With ‘State-Affiliated Media’ Label
What may Elon imply? Certainly the massive boys wouldn’t attempt to destroy the beast that feeds their ego with hearts and retweets.
In actual fact, they’d, to the extent of spouting any speaking level they’re fed to smear Elon Musk and his new Twitter world. Just lately Elon expertly annihilated BBC’s James Clayton, who, after claiming hate speech is on the rise on Twitter, couldn’t name one occasion of hate speech he’s personally witnessed.
How embarrassing to basically get referred to as out by a nerd in a t-shirt for simply being a parrot of propaganda. So will Elon be victorious in cleansing up the filth of pretend information and ushering within the gentle of high quality investigative journalism?
Elon Musk on Twitter decreasing its workers dimension by 80% since his takeover: “In case you’re not attempting to run some glorified activist group and also you don’t care that a lot about censorship, then you’ll be able to actually let go of lots of people it seems.” pic.twitter.com/kdPpOtahb8
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) April 18, 2023
One For The Books
As a lot as I’m rooting for Elon, I worry the beast that has turn into “journalism” is simply too huge and ugly for him to defeat.
Even he admitted to an extent that there’s a restrict to his capability:
“Mainstream media will nonetheless thrive, however elevated competitors from residents will trigger them to be extra correct, as their oligopoly on info is disrupted.”
Nonetheless, can citizen journalists be of any match to a Goliath that has turn into media? In any case, it was Musk himself, with the assistance of established journalists, who disclosed that Twitter had turn into a puppet of the federal authorities, a playground of present and former CIA and FBI alum.
And what got here of that disclosure? Journalist Matt Taibbi got a visit from the IRS on the identical day he testified earlier than the Choose Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Authorities.
How sinfully ironic. This week on Tucker Carlson, Elon revealed:
“The diploma to which numerous authorities businesses successfully had full entry to the whole lot that was occurring at Twitter blew my thoughts.”
Is Elon destroying journalism? I hope so, given the monster it has turn into.
Is he the final hope for fact? Solely time will inform, however both method, I’ve little doubt Mr. Musk can be solidified into the historical past books as a villain and hero – as all of the greats usually turn into.
I discover it extra useful to learn/observe particular person journalists, reasonably than publications.
Any given publication goes to have wide selection of views, albeit overwhelming majority of tales about any topic are adverse, maybe reflecting innate human biases.
Citizen journalism FTW!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2021
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