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
A.I.
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.
GE2024: What we're covering, and how can you help
It looks like we are either 6 or 7 weeks out from the General Election. I am in full planning mode, and would love your input, advice, tips. As always, you can reply to this email to hit my inbox. I’ll be in a position to do about 2
Data Centres
Budget reaction: the quiet triumph of the data centre lobby
In amongst the giveaways, was a opening for the Apple Tax windfall to be siphoned into state subsidies for data centres.
Apple Tax, Populism, and the Persistent Fallacy that Accountancy is Economics
Tax and tech are entering their accountability era. The Irish State, which has both enabled and benefited from the previous Wild West era, faces the prospect of not just an economic but also a political crisis if it doesn’t adjust.
Internet Culture
The grifter edit: a new pig butchering scam & shilling mascara at an election rally
Connor McGregor announcing he is running for President has me thinking about two epic grifters who have come on my radar recently.
20th newsletter, plus two good stories on tech & housing
Hello! I have a few cool links to share, but first I wanted to add 2 little programming notes. This is my 20th newsletter! The first one went to 38 people back in February, this one will go to just under 500. Thank you for being one of those people
elections
Hope is making a comeback
Michelle Obama's barnstorming speech in Chicago on Tuesday night announced that "hope is making a comeback". It made me nostalgic for "hopey-changey" 2008, staying up all night to watch Obama win, intoxicated by optimism, smugness, and aesthetic agreeableness. In hindsight of course it looks
Internet Culture
From "Happy Slaps" to today's political violence
Are we seeing an unholy alliance between far right radicalisation, and the exhibitionist nihilism that emerged almost as soon as the camera phone did?