simon kirrane

Director, co-founder and KOB Publishing.

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

Amazing free kick from @LarkhallAFC here

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

The editor is having such a laugh here.

[Chris Anderson @TEDchris]

With a certain amount of trepidation, I'm posting this open letter to @elonmusk, someone I have admired, but who, right now, is causing me concern. I know I'm not alone in thinking these thoughts. Please like or repost if you're willing... And Elon, if you're listening, please know this is offered in a constructive spirit.

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Dear Elon,

A thought hit me this morning.

On top of all your achievements in technology and entrepreneurship, you have become this century's single most influential writer.  You have more than 200 million followers on a powerful platform that you yourself control. And the words that you write flow well beyond just those followers into almost every user of X and far beyond courtesy of extensive media coverage.   This makes Rupert Murdoch at his prime seem inconsequential.

It must feel exhilarating. You made a huge gamble buying Twitter and it seems to have paid off spectacularly to the point that you can use it to massively impact the world, including changing governments.  You believe that X can largely replace most mainstream media. It is the new platform for citizen journalism, and you are citizen number 1.  You don’t need the hassle of editors and fact-checkers. Every single thing you post garners millions of likes and reposts. In a heartbeat you can change the global conversation.  No one in history has had this much power.

So there’s a lot at stake here, and, as it happens, journalism is something I care deeply about. I began my career as a journalist because I believed that good journalism was essential for the healthy functioning of democracy. Today I am worried — quite deeply worried, actually — that in your triumphant seizing of the global conversation, some of the core tenets of journalism are being forgotten. Without them, I think your efforts to make X the respected home of citizen journalism will fail.

There are numerous journalistic principles that matter — Grok can summarize them quite nicely. But there’s one in particular that’s been troubling me. It’s the fairness doctrine. The one that says that before you publish savagely critical claims about an individual, or an institution, you reach out to them for their side of the story. After all, just possibly, you may have missed a key fact or two that would change how people assess what has happened. Just possibly your sources were motivated to cause damage to that individual. Just possibly there’s an alternative explanation of what happened.

So, for example, when you tell hundreds of millions of people that someone should be hanged or jailed for outrageous crimes against humanity, just possibly you should first sound out what those who know those people really well would say about them. Some of your recent posts could literally get someone killed. Do you really want to risk that? How is it possible that you can do this at the very same time that you’re calling on people to make X more positive, more beautiful?  You say you want to maximize un-regretted user-seconds on X.  By far the simplest way you could do this, Elon, is simply to thoughtfully edit what you yourself post.

I get that from your eyes the issues you are championing are unbelievably important and worthy of extreme efforts. But the way you are presenting them is not citizen journalism. It's playground bullying. It’s crass and it’s cruel, and it’s therefore not nearly as effective as it could be.  You’re hearing the cheers of your most loyal followers, but missing the fact you’re making yourself a laughing stock among many who you really want on your side. Long-term that’s going to damage X, your other businesses, and indeed your long-term dreams for humanity.  No one wants to follow a playground bully to Mars.

I miss the old Elon. You can be funny, interesting, insightful and inspiring. You've fought incredibly hard for what you've built. And you may feel you're entitled to do whatever the hell you want with it. But I also know that you understand the danger of holding too tightly to the ring of power, how it can distort someone's judgement and turn them ugly.

I’m hoping you can loosen that ring just a little. For the love of humanity that you profess, I really urge you to embrace the fairness doctrine and showcase a better face of X.

Thanks for listening.

Chris

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

@GaryHershorn @GrandCentralNYC Annoyingly perfect, well done!

[The Jase 🐶 🎸 🎥 @jasemonkey]

I'd love to see a film that's the origin story for Sweep. It'd be better than Joker.

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

Went to RHS Bridgewater yesterday. Would recommend 10/10.

[Danny Deraney @DannyDeraney]

47 years ago today, Soap debuted.

We don't talk enough about how brilliant and underrated this show was.

This scene. 😂😂😂

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

The deafening sound of the silenced.

[Paul Hanley @hanleyPa]

‘I have no platform to speak’ says Morrissey at length in the Daily Telegraph today.

[Paul Hanley @hanleyPa]

‘I have no platform to speak’ says Morrissey at length in the Daily Telegraph today.

[vinylrevivalmcr @VinylRevivalMcr]

We have a number of the official Oasis Manchester promo posters displayed in the shop and around the city. As we did with The Stone Roses posters we will offer these to fans for £10 with all proceeds to @TheChristie. Collection only. #Oasis #Oasis25 #OasisLive25

[Sir Graham Lister @Graham_Lister]

this year's works holiday was two weeks away in Paris

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

If you ever wondered where wool came from.

[Diane Abbott @HackneyAbbott]

Giants of the English football team. Meanwhile Reform is complaining about immigration

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

https://t.co/ua2rTSoDDQ

#fallfriday

[HENRY MORRIS @mrhenrymorris]

As she's there, somebody could explain to Nadine how Channel 4 is funded.

[Richard Osman @richardosman]

Worth remembering that the Tories worst ever seat count was 156, and that was 118 years ago.

[simon kirrane @simonkirrane]

Tomorrow I'm going for a swim in the river and I expect to emerge healthier.

[John Mulaney @mulaney]

A compilation of Brook Linder’s bumpers for “Everybody’s in LA”

[Just Joyce @johnstonglenn]

So we turned into Barney Kiernan’s and there, sure enough, was the citizen up in the corner having a great confab with himself and that bloody mangy mongrel, Garryowen, and he waiting for what the sky would drop in the way of drink

- Ulysses

June 21 is Take Your Dog to Work Day