 Dear journalists: You continue to pour your work into Musk's business. You are supporting him. You are helping him. You are doing this despite his demonstrated contempt for you, despite his support for extremists -- and, as of today, his rank anti-semitism (effectively blaming Jews for his vile site's loss of advertising) I know that you believe you get value from being "where the people are" -- but sometimes principle requires sacrifice. So much is at stake. 73 comments
@franktaber @dangillmor There will be no mass exodus. It's baked into their livelihoods. But getting people to stop talking about him is a step in the right direction. There's no screenshot of his inane hate speech here - just a plea for people who should know better to be better.  @darthstar It's been frustrating to see since last November, Twitter/EM posts have dominated the Explore feed nearly every single day. And now even I'm talking about him, ugh just can't win. Preaching to the choir for sure. @scottytrees @dangillmor SpaceX is also a danger. An American arms corp was recently bought. Imagine if it was Musk that made the purchase. Malevolent wealth is malevolent. At least Musk is losing money with Xhitter.  @dangillmor journalists have been giving free advertising and endorsement for years even as Dorsey spent years using Twitter to support fascists and undermine democracy  Journalists for Propagandaministerium "The Ministry has the task of carrying out an intellectual mobilization in Germany. In the field of the spirit it is thus the same as the Ministry of Defense in the field of security. [...] Spiritual mobilization [is] just as necessary, perhaps even more necessary, than making the people materially able to defend themselves."  Yup. And I’m sorry but at this point it’s getting harder and harder NOT to start to question the moral fiber of those who continue to remain and actively use that platform. Staying on Twitter and supporting Shit-lon is a choice and people certainly can be looked down upon for knowingly making bad choices that directly or indirectly cause harm to others. @aggualaqisaaq @dangillmor indeed, regardless of what tiny good one might imagine is still somehow possible to do there, it is the harm to others simply by being there that is far greater. it is time to put Old Yeller down.  Journalists, the first step is to admit you have a problem. That addiction to Twitter hits has overwhelmed your principles. Much as an alcoholic or drug addict will turn their back on family and friends, you are in the thrall of something powerful that is distorting your judgement. There is a way out, but it can not be imposed on you. You need to make the determination. You need to take the first important step. There is no hope if you continue with willful denial. @mastodonmigration @dangillmor I find I can play online Scrabble all day and it's almost as good 😉 @mastodonmigration @dangillmor While I agree with both of your messages I simultaneously resonate with this observation by @gulovsen: @db @dangillmor @gulovsen Grant is absolutely right. People don't respond well to being told they are supporting a fascist platform. But that's what they are doing. Particularly in light of the recent anti-semetic dogwhistles. So, what the heck. 🤷 @dangillmor This is the time when we should apply the quote about believing people when they show you who they are...  @dangillmor We need a big carrot to dangle. A service they must have, that is only distributed via fedi accounts (or distribued first). I have several ideas. Waiting for coders to catch up with the other ideas. But soon I want to focus on this concept. Once they start using the fedi in parallel (as we do often), they will realize the future is here, not there.  @dangillmor I can understand journo's having an account there still. Continuing to post to it from their accounts (work or personal) and linking to it / embedding it, I can't see how they justify. It's support and endorsement.  @dangillmor @dangillmor I've said it before and I'll say it again: principle doesn't pay your bills. Some people are privileged and can leave everything they've been doing for years. Others cannot and it's their right to make this choice. It's not like they came to a Musk's platform. It's him who came to their platform and changed it. Nobody required people to leave USA when Trump became a president for example... People even in the opposition were still paying taxes and 'supporting' him. @dangillmor Same to be said about academics who are still there, and for any STEM professional who elects to work for him. @dangillmor those who stay on that platform to protect their follower counts are similar to how western leaders were happy to placate Putin in order to benefit from his money/cheap energy… ultimately the result will be similar as well.  @dangillmor There are very few journalists left. The group you're referring to is a squirming ball of illiterate rodents, desperate for clicks and views, wholly detached from the ethical revelation of socially relevant information. @Hey_Beth It's where we landed. The destruction of objective journalism is one of the costs of social media. For some reason, we were willing to make that trade. @Gustodon @dangillmor the entirety of sports journalists remain. There are many many journalists still there. @najakwa @dangillmor From my point of view, anyone still on Twitter has failed a series of moral tests, and their opinions and ideas can be ignored. Their decision to remain there defines them as hacks, committed to other endeavors beyond the duties of the Fourth Estate. Also, I'm pretty sure "sports journalist" is an oxymoron. ;) @Gustodon @dangillmor Hahaha. As a former journalist myself... Yeah. I got out before the web click counters. @dangillmor imagine if in decades’ and centuries’ past, when evil assumed power, the prevailing advice was to hide under the table instead of challenge that evil. This place is the worst. @billyok @dangillmor Well that's an interesting point; we have a right to know about and call out such behavior. BUT that has to be weighed against everything a narcissist gains from publicity. Now add in to the mix that the narcissist is a billionaire and things get even more dangerous. How do we do it correctly? @Lacey_kc @dangillmor This falls along the same lines of “if we write about Trump, won't it just feed his ego?” Now imagine if journalists took that advice the past 7 years. Twitter's bleeding money and journalists putting their reporting where it can be seen won't be Elon's financial savior. It's simply running and hiding and making excuses as to why. @nickmartin yours is the “tweet” that sent me here. Musk is the Monster I don’t want to feed.  @dangillmor They're going to stay there until Elon really crosses the line and makes an ill judged joke at a private lunch.  @dangillmor I agree, the best thing is to just leave X and ignore it. To participate is to support this garbage site. @dangillmor if you’re not willing to sacrifice for your principles, they’re not principles  @dangillmor “Sometimes principle requires sacrifice” very well said! Capitalism puts profit above principle @dangillmor We don't have to stop using Twitter just because Elon is a piece of shit. It's an act of protest to continue to use Twitter in spite of Elon's hatred and contempt. We have to let Elon know that we're not going anywhere and he has to deal with our opposing voices that'll cry bullshit whenever he does something foul. And we will post about it on his platform for the whole world to see. If we all just leave then Elon wins. @Jamesivan96 Fascinating. I love the idea of posting shit he doesn't like on his own platform... in a general sense, Amnesty International agrees with you--the idea that boycotts aren't helpful and that change is easier to affect from the inside.  @dangillmor many of these same journalists "made" Trump, too. Clearly they are not all Nazi's, most journalists presumably aren't, but, for this reason, at least some are actually something far worse. @gnutelephony Ouch. Are we talking specifics here, or...? I was a journalist trained in the pre Trump era. We never even had narcissism on our radar. I remember being surprised that Trump won and that people were blaming the media. In one sense, a news reporter can feel absolutely trapped by the news. "It's my job to tell people what happened here." Again, of course, that was before we knew about narcissistic millionaires. The supreme irony, perhaps, is that by continuing to use Twitter journalists also contribute to the the propagation of misinformation. But then, I guess those working for Murdoch, etc, have been doing that for years anyway...  @dangillmor It's funny how when you scratch the surface of transphobia, there's often anti-Semitism and a host of other hate lurking underneath. @dangillmor A different tactic is needed. Maybe asking the journalists what would Elon have to do for them to leave Twitter. Elon realizes he has his own: “I Could ... Shoot Somebody, And I Wouldn't Lose Any Journalists”   Not knowing all the individual reasons people claim, I tend to agree, but prolly at least a few peeps have good reasons. And... I wish to hell people would abandon Twitter! (I guess I'm dead naming the app. Do I need to do some soul searching?) @jennyzilliac @dangillmor You can't "#deadname" an #app or #company because unlike an actual person, they have no human rights and deserve no dignity or compassion. It's perfectly fine to call #Chiquita as #UnitedFruit and "#Meta" as #NSAbook to remind them of the blood on their hands. People like #MittRomney that claim "#CorporationsArePeople" are just cringeworthy and deranged... @dangillmor  @dangillmor it’s governments that need to walk away first and stop announcing news-worthy things on the platform— or they should walk away together.  @dangillmor @dangillmor it’s the ego vs ethics test of 2023. So many hacks claiming to “just” promote their work there because they can’t face losing an audience. It’s risible. The smallest possible protest too much for those addicted to clicks. |
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@dangillmor Dan I hope you are posting this elsewhere that you have a megaphone as well. I think journalists may listen to you but the ones who need to hear it are not here.