1/
Interesting to witness Upper Echelon Gamers gradually fall for the 2nd trap of journalism:
reporting on spicy accusations + legal action = ultimately *unquestionable* angle.
Power corrupts, and this is ultimate power, if in small doses.
2/
I love Upper Echelon Gamers' content - it's varied, intense, well researched and presented. He even earned a complimentary twitter ban to emphasize speaking truth to the power. RIP.
Saw him as "by the people, for the people" kind of journalism.
But is that the case anymore?
3/
What is a journalist to do, when given an easy, unquestionable angle?
Meta-question it. Always. Be the unpopular guy asking, "but are we seeing all that there is to it?" when people make teary eyes and the state sends legal cavalry for the - predictably always same - victims.
4/
If you, as a journalist, fail to question the angle handed down, you become part of the "stacking narrative upon narrative upon narrative to make the previous narratives unquestionable" industry.
And the taller the stack, the costlier the unwind.
5/
Since nobody asked, here's the 1st trap of journalism:
treating journalism itself as the first and foremost concern - both as source of information, and as source of newsworthy events & opinions.
6/
You are over-stating the case, @vgkid415.
I enjoy UEG's vids 👍; certainly find his content more trustworthy than industry's.
I decided to critique specifically because I have high hopes for him - and wish him to avoid the traps of journalism.
7/
Specific example: this video.
UEG bemoans (correctly) Facebook collecting, using too much personal data 👍
UEG then bemoans FB banning certain specific advertising that was aimed directly and unambiguously against it.
8/
EUG bemoans FB banning of that anti-Facebook advertising, even goes with "but it didn't break the ToS?"
This is not our fight. This is activists' fight - to extract more regulation and more lobbying spend.
When acting as a journalist, don't automatically side with activists.
9/
UEG goes full on journalist:
"this development disadvantages somebody and therefore is bad".
Bad, Upper Echelon Gamers, bad. Be better than the mainstream media.
10/
Ironic how UEG dumped on cryptocurrency *the day after* Trudeau announced canadian gov will grab fiat money from people's banks accounts, in context of the trucker convoy.
There's a reason nobody took seriously their announcement that they'll "grab the crypto too".
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