X, Elon Musk’s First Irish Interview and the Impending Election Season

Hello and welcome to Season 6 and Episode 93 of the Public Sector Marketing Show. 

We are sauntering into 2024 and the world is not becoming any friendlier. 

It’s also Election Season and with that will bring more divisiveness, disinformation and dare I say it, voter disillusionment. 

But not to start off this season with pessimism, I want to open up a conversation on this show about X, Elon Musk’s first interview with an Irish media outlet and how we navigate the online space through elections and how politicians and political parties can show up. 

So, let’s dive in.

Column – What are the Major Challenges facing Election Season 2024?

Who owns the truth?

Where are the sources of truth during election season?

Mainstream media is getting a battering from the public right now and new and alternative media sources and content creators are amassing audiences at huge rates, especially on TikTok.

As we enter election season – in an Irish context we have a Referendum on March 8th before the people go to vote in the local and European Elections in June. 

Stateside the primaries are underway before US citizens go to the polls in November to elect the 47th President of the United States of America. 

But there are elections right across the world this year. 

And it’s going to get dirty. Very dirty. Online. 

In today’s show I want to discuss the role of X, the challenge to mainstream media, and Elon Musk and Gript’s Ben Scallan discuss Ireland’s proposed hate speech legislation.

It’s impossible to unpack it all, but let’s dive in. 

Consulting - Political Correctness, Social Media Free Speech & Algorithmic Bias

Right now, it feels impossible to have your own opinion. Think about it. You listen to news, have conversations with colleagues, scroll social media. There’s opposing views around every corner and perhaps no matter how much we try, we get targeted with divisive and emotive headlines that puts our mind in a spin. 

We are living in a world where political correctness, cancel culture, social media free speech and algorithmic bias are competing for attention. 

It’s the attention economy stupid!

Think about it. 

✅ Attention for social media users = more ad revenue for the social networks. 

✅ Attention for politicians = potentially more votes

✅ Attention for mainstream media consumption = more ad revenue

✅ Attention for creators = more followers 

The attention economy is killing us!

Our mental health, our mindsets, our own ideas and our democracies. 

I really do fear for civilization. And I’m part of it, selling the notion that we can sell the truth to the people in the public interest in good faith. That’s my mission in my work with government and public sector. But often you are so afraid of the online vitriol that you stay away. 

So how do we navigate 2024 online. Here’s some ideas for us as citizens and you as public sector pros: 

1️⃣ Choose your sources of truth / be the source of truth – stand up to the negativity, don’t retreat, be visible, inform the public; 

2️⃣ Sharing content on social makes you an influencer, even if you have only 20 followers, you are potentially influencing their views, this goes for public sector, 

3️⃣ Monitor public commentary, where are the gaps in information, how do you improve public awareness?

Interview | Jack Parrock, journalist, news correspondent, presenter and conference moderator based in Brussels.

A specialist in EU affairs and pan-European reporting, Jack has spent over a decade reporting on the major stories out of Brussels, across Europe, and around the world. He is a regular contributor to major global news outlets like Deutsche Welle, Euronews, the Times, the Telegraph and many other renowned TV channels, newspapers and online publications.

Jack is a seasoned conference host and is a regular Brussels moderator for EU events, as well as a presenter and Master of Ceremonies for major international events around the world.

Connect with Jack on LinkedIn

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