Is violence an inevitable byproduct of the attention economy?

We need to start looking at this kind of performative violence as an endemic byproduct of the attention economy

Campaigning likes it 1999 (when it feels like its 1938)

How do you run a political campaign without digital ads? I asked two of our best campaign gurus what we might expect. 

Musk's profoundly ignorant and dangerous intervention in #Aras25

I really, really hope this isn't the start of a whole thing. Elon Musk has tweeted about the race for the Aras in the most profoundly ignorant and stupidly dangerous way possible. The tweet is screenshot below; in it Musk sub-tweets another tweet claiming Simon Harris "ordered

Seven weeks to polling day: what The Briefing will cover

We finally have a date: October 24th. Between now and then, The Briefing will run twice weekly: short, data-led analysis of campaign dynamics, plus curated reads on elections and tech policy. No horse race, just what the campaign reveals about our democracy, our economy, and our digital future.

Why is this Presidential Election so weird?

We've had a load of elections around here lately - we're in our stride - so why does the looming Presidential Election feel so... weird? We're about 10 weeks out (we think - there is still no date) and it feels like both no-one

Irish data centres are facilitating surveillance and targeting of Palestinians, reports The Guardian

Some incredible new investigative reporting from The Guardian revealed today that Irish based Microsoft data centres are likely involved in a population scale Israeli military effort to surveil and plan airstrikes on Palestinians. The reporting is here - it is by Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham. They found that the

Meta “bans” political ads in the EU

Last night - a Friday night, in July - Meta announced that it would “no longer allow political, electoral and social issue ads on our platforms in the EU in response to new regulation”. The first thing I thought of when I read this was that scene from The Office

The pursuit of dirty fingernails

For the last few weeks a group of us from the neighbourhood - parents with kids around the same age - have been gathering on a patchwork of picnic blankets on a designated evening. It is so simple and yet feels like a miracle. Out there in the multiverse is

A moment of truth for Europe's tolerance of Ireland's tech ties

All going well, I will be on The Tonight Show this evening to talk tech and tariffs. Sharing my thoughts here; please do reply / email me with your own if you think I'm wide of the mark. The tariff triple threat The Irish state faces at least three

The Lookout: two recent good listens on tech stocks

This is the first of a new series of recommender newsletters. I'm starting with two recent podcast listens I've really enjoyed, each looking at the precarious world of tech stock valuations, and reflect on what it can mean for all of us. As always you tell

How to squander an empire

It is easy to look rich if you raid the family silver.

The Elizabeth Holmes of government efficiency

I have a piece in the Irish Times today about Elon Musk's performative vandalism of the US government. He has unleashed a band of inexperienced twenty somethings - some reportedly still teens - to "disrupt" government. And it is profoundly idiotic (not the same choice of

A.I.

Are politicians' AI dreams making them the electric sheep?

What Keir Starmer’s recent policy announcements show about his hopes and fears for AI, and the potential folly of his FOMO

scams

It's the Grifter Olympics, and this is just the Opening Ceremony

I cannot stop thinking about the Trump Meme Coin "$TRUMP", possibly the largest grift - and corruption opportunity - ever orchestrated by a political figure. And we can only anticipate more.

Guest explainer: what next for TikTok, and tech, following the US ban?

The US Supreme Court has upheld the ban on TikTok to come into effect Sunday, 19 January . What happens next?

Europe

Audio: Ireland in the queasy middle

Mark Zuckerberg's comments on Europe yesterday seem to have gone under the radar, drowned out by his announcement of a radical shift in content moderation at Meta. But they really are striking. He said that Meta would: “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the

EU investigation of TikTok goes for the jugular

The European Commission officially launched an investigation into TikTok today, announcing it suspected the company of breaching the Digital Services Act. Specifically, it is examining whether TikTok failed in it obligation to "assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to election integrity", which falls under Articles 34 and 35,

Reading list: Romanian election annulled due to digital interference

Get up to speed on the annulment of the Romanian election, and what it might mean for TikTok

Learning to pundit

It is late and I am at my kitchen table, over-caffeinated again. This weekend I got to be part of the general election coverage, which is my Carnegie Hall / Champions League Final. I imagine it might be for some people who read this, so some thoughts: It really is as

Has Ireland bucked the 2024 incumbency curse?

Hello from my kitchen table, at close to 2am. Sharing a thought I can't get out of my head on this election results day, even as the count has yet to deliver anything definitive. Do share your thoughts - either reply or I am on BlueSky - and

The three tech stories of GE24

UPDATE: I added 2 more great pieces of reporting below, from The Journal & Dublin Inquirer, after sending this post as an email We can look at the tech story of the Irish 2024 General Election in 3 ways; tech as a campaign tool, tech companies as campaign actors, and

GE2024: Attack Ads, Money Problems, and the WSJ

Before I get into it, you may have noticed that TheBriefing.ie has had a makeover. My long-time collaborator and friend Brent Gorsky did a full re-brand, including the very cool - and hand made - collages. He wrote about the strategy behind it here. And, I have added a

Irish Politics

Tech looms over this election, but as fiscal policy, not a campaign tool

Between Trump's appointees, mobile tech capital and changing tax rules, we are facing a possible fiscal cliff. Yet we are still hearing 2007-style auction politics. Where is the vision for a less FDI dependent economy?

Where is the Sinn Fein digital campaign?

With just over 2 weeks to go, we expect parties to be ramping up their ad spend. Fine Gael are, but Sinn Fein have yet to start a General Election digital campaign, at least on the paid side.