Learning to pundit

It is late and I am at my kitchen table, over-caffeinated again. This weekend I got to be part of the general election coverage, which is my Carnegie Hall / Champions League Final. I imagine it might be for some people who read this, so some thoughts: It really is as

Has Ireland bucked the 2024 incumbency curse?

Hello from my kitchen table, at close to 2am. Sharing a thought I can't get out of my head on this election results day, even as the count has yet to deliver anything definitive. Do share your thoughts - either reply or I am on BlueSky - and

The three tech stories of GE24

UPDATE: I added 2 more great pieces of reporting below, from The Journal & Dublin Inquirer, after sending this post as an email We can look at the tech story of the Irish 2024 General Election in 3 ways; tech as a campaign tool, tech companies as campaign actors, and

GE2024: Attack Ads, Money Problems, and the WSJ

Before I get into it, you may have noticed that TheBriefing.ie has had a makeover. My long-time collaborator and friend Brent Gorsky did a full re-brand, including the very cool - and hand made - collages. He wrote about the strategy behind it here. And, I have added a

Tech looms over this election, but as fiscal policy, not a campaign tool

Between Trump's appointees, mobile tech capital and changing tax rules, we are facing a possible fiscal cliff. Yet we are still hearing 2007-style auction politics. Where is the vision for a less FDI dependent economy?

Where is the Sinn Fein digital campaign?

With just over 2 weeks to go, we expect parties to be ramping up their ad spend. Fine Gael are, but Sinn Fein have yet to start a General Election digital campaign, at least on the paid side.

GE2024: Simon Harris here, and here, and here, and...

Election day is confirmed, and the money flows - and videos of high-fiving children - have commenced.

We don't have to wake up like this again in 4 weeks (or 4 years) time

In Ireland we have our own election in less than 4 weeks time, and this time we will have a vote, and we have agency over how that election goes.

Canvassers: our secret weapon against online & financial distortion

I was asked on the This Week programme yesterday to talk through the digital campaign. We only had 6 minutes (you can listen back here - including about Fine Gael's new ad push), but I wanted to make sure I squeezed in an acknowledgment of the work that

Did AI hallucinate a Halloween Parade and put hundreds of people on Dublin's streets? {Updated}

Last night hundreds of people gathered on Dublin's O'Connell St to watch a Halloween Parade that did not exist; a spookily well timed rise of the Zombie Internet?

3 things that are more interesting than that Taylor Swift video

Let me convince you that at least 3 things are more interesting than the Taylor Swift endorsement deep/cheap/creepfake (which of course is just copying what Trump did, also for attention). These 3 things relate to political finance: 1. One party is spending 80% more in the run up

The Shadow Campaign has Begun, and Deepfake Vs. Cheapfake

Revealing "shadow campaigns" and how AI-driven “deepfake” tools are reshaping political messaging and authenticity.