“The Tech PR Template for Attacking Whistleblowers”

 

I compared Twitter’s response to its whistleblower, Peiter Zatko, with Facebook/Meta’s response to Frances Haugen (in 2021). 

It created this Attack the Whistleblower 101.

 

 

Then, I turned it into a more detailed article. 

You’re invited to check it out:

The Emerging Tech PR Template for Attacking Whistleblowers

 

Illustration: Twitter follows Facebook’s template

(as interpreted by OpenAI’s DALL-E).

 

“Don’t Be So Certain Social Media Is Undermining Democracy”

 

The sweeping generalization of social media harms.

 

Prof. Jonathan Haidt, author of Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid (his answer: social media), published a sequel, Yes, Social Media Really Is Undermining Democracy.

 

These claims are not empirically grounded. Many popular narratives are overstated.

Correlation does not imply causation, and we have contradictory findings.

 

Here’s my detailed response:

Don’t Be So Certain Social Media Is Undermining Democracy

Illustration: Jonathan Haidt on Vacation

(I asked OpenAI’s DallE for “a man shouting at a leaning tower of Pisa, digital art.” It came out too good. 

But you need to read Haidt’s Babel metaphor first).

Why do people LOVE Google & love to HATE Facebook?

 

In the 2022 Israel Brands Index, Google ranks first.
Far behind, at #123 (!): Facebook.

WHY?

 

An interview with Globes:

Google good, Facebook bad?

In English / In Hebrew / Twitter thread

Keen On Podcast - Nirit Weiss-Blatt: Why the Techlash Has Gone Too Far

 
Thank you, Andrew Keen, for having me on your podcast Keen On.

Great questions & I enjoyed the debate.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Why the Techlash Has Gone Too Far 

and How to Tell the Truth About the Impact of Tech on Society

 

Andrew Keen: 

“The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication is beginning perhaps to fight back against the Techlash, or certainly an attempt to balance it out a little more. 

It’s an interesting book and an interesting argument. 

She is rather brave to put her head above the parapet in terms of the onslaught that tech is getting.”

I seem to be haunted by this specific stock image...

And Silicon Valley-based media scholar should be my new bio :-)

"Tech Journalists as Bullshit Detectors and Hype Slayers"

 

The way tech journalists report on and criticize technology is evolving. Still, they should serve as bullshit detectors and hype slayers. 

This guide provides tips for minimizing the overly positive and negative hypes, stopping with “the END of _ / “_ is Dead,” and examining the underlying forces.
 

Check it out. Here’s the whole essay:

A Guide for Tech Journalists: How to be Bullshit Detectors and Hype Slayers (and Not the Opposite)