Please read this. It's literally been 8 years in the writing.
The first wave of tech disruption of democracy 2016-2024 is over. What starts now is something much, much worse: the age of information chaos. 1/ theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
It's exactly 8 years since I published this on Nov 6, 2016. My first step down the rabbit hole that became Facebook/Cambridge Analytica. And if you still think that's a 'conspiracy', I have a social media platform to sell you. 2/ theguardian.com/technology/201…
Oh no, that's right. The world's richest man already bought it. Remember Marshall McLuhan, 'the medium is the message'? Well the medium now is Musk. And he's the shadow head of state of the world's greatest superpower. That’s the message. Have you got it yet?
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Trump is cholera. He's the bacillus in our drinking water. But there's worse coming. Because this platform - all the platforms - are stinking toxic sewers. This is Victorian London before sanitation. Our information system is sick, sick, sick.
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This is Steve Bannon's world now: 'Politics is downstream from culture.' The young men who voted for Trump? Did they? Or for protein shakes and deadlifts? For YouTube shorts & Twitch? Because this is culture now. Curated by algorithms owned by broligarchs.
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Please just read the piece. And if you're as panicked as fuck - as you should be - pls sign up to my new newsletter. I don't know what the answer is but I've spent the last 8 years trying. The only thing I know is that we can't do this alone 6/ open.substack.com/pub/broligarch…
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NEW: I’ve found an opaque financial vehicle owns a large chunk of the Observer. And neither it or the Guardian will say who it is. Why?
Well there is a clue. Which goes by way of Saudi Arabia… 1/
The capture of US media orgs is accelerating. And the UK is next in line. The BBC has fallen to an AI hype guy. And my old newspaper, the Observer, is publishing Palantir puff pieces.
Distracted by the slaughter of children in Iran & Lebanon? Me too! But what better time could there be for govt to quietly relaunch its Digital ID plan?
Missed it? Me too! But look who’s celebrating…
The director of ‘govt innovation’ at the Tony Blair Institute! 1/
The govt noisily scrapped Digital ID after huge pushback when nobody bought its ‘it’ll solve immigration’ bollocks. But as markets tanked last week - kudos to the comms team! - it was discreetly re-launched with all-new messaging: a ‘common sense solution to everyday probs’
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Darren Jones, Cabinet Office secretary, put out a press release claiming the govt will be holding a ‘consultation’.
NOT: ‘Do you want the govt & unknown tech companies to have all your data?’
BUT: (I kid you not): ‘At what age should you be able to get a digital id?’ 🤔 3/
Congrats to all the news orgs that signed syndication deals with this company. You’ve licensed your journalism to be a core component of Trump’s illegal war machine. Great job everyone 👏
A special shoutout to the editor-in-chief & CEO of the Guardian, Kath Viner & Anna Bateson. The deal with OpenAI was an unforced error which legitimised OpenAI’s illegal scraping of Guardian data & IP. In exchange for a quick buck. The NYTimes, in contrast, chose to sue.
Anthropic stood up to Trump. But OpenAI has capitulated. And now all its ‘partners’ are complicit in the consequences.
That includes Guardian. It will financially benefit from its journalists’ work - inc mine - being used to support Trump’s illegal wars & ICE’s reign of terror.
PREDICTION: If Andrew is charged (no assumption of guilt etc), we are going to have a crisis of both the press & judiciary.
In Britain, it is an offence to publish ANY info on defendant beyond bare facts.
But! US outlets can print whatever they like…
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Contempt of court is foundational principle of British justice: press must not prejudice a jury trial.
Editors risk a prison sentence if found in breach.
Even in digital age, the law held…but how could it possibly withstand deluge of US coverage in a case like this??
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Short answer: it won’t. Far right agitator Tommy Robinson weaponised UK laws on contempt as a ‘cover up’ over grooming scandal. And the New Yorker ignored & published on Lucy Letby.
If Andrew is charged, it’ll trigger a crisis for both the press & judiciary
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NEW: Our investigation for @thenerve_news reveals not only that Peter Thiel’s Palantir is completely enmeshed in our critical national infrastructure.
It’s also the ‘cloud support’ for our nuclear weapons system 1/
Palantir’s stated mission is to defend America. Peter Thiel is a radical libertarian who does not believe ‘freedom & democracy are compatible’.
Yet, the UK is overwhelmingly dependent on Palantir’s services. As a national security threat, this is off the charts. 2/
Please read the piece with comments from tech & national security experts.
We have no national security while we rely on highly political US Silicon Valley firms that are enmeshed in Trump’s increasing fascistic administration. 3/