Irish Politics
Campaigning likes it 1999 (when it feels like its 1938)
How do you run a political campaign without digital ads? I asked two of our best campaign gurus what we might expect.
elections
Seven weeks to polling day: what The Briefing will cover
We finally have a date: October 24th. Between now and then, The Briefing will run twice weekly: short, data-led analysis of campaign dynamics, plus curated reads on elections and tech policy. No horse race, just what the campaign reveals about our democracy, our economy, and our digital future.
Data Centres
Irish data centres are facilitating surveillance and targeting of Palestinians, reports The Guardian
Some incredible new investigative reporting from The Guardian revealed today that Irish based Microsoft data centres are likely involved in a population scale Israeli military effort to surveil and plan airstrikes on Palestinians. The reporting is here - it is by Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham. They found that the
Europe
Audio: Ireland in the queasy middle
Mark Zuckerberg's comments on Europe yesterday seem to have gone under the radar, drowned out by his announcement of a radical shift in content moderation at Meta. But they really are striking. He said that Meta would: “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the
Irish Politics
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?
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?
Tech policy
Simon Harris has had enough; where will that energy take us?
Simon Harris has come out swinging for Big Tech; a much needed tone shift at the top of Government. But what happens next will determine if we turn around our reputation in Europe, or descend into a pointless beef with a Silicon Valley manchild