Taking on the tech bros

Dear readers — Daniel Timms here. I help out with editing at The Tribune and write the odd piece as well. I hope you’re having a cracking weekend thus far.

It’s been quite the week in the world at large. Donald Trump has re-ascended to the throne as arguably the world’s most powerful person. Meanwhile, many of the world’s other most powerful people have been clamouring to show their support. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg both made donations to Trump’s inauguration fund and were present for the occasion.

Then, of course, there’s Elon Musk. The world’s richest man, and owner of social media network X, wholeheartedly threw his support behind Trump’s campaign. In return he’s been given a role heading up a Government efficiency department — quite something for someone who stands to benefit directly from future deregulation. The nexus of power in politics and tech is becoming very tight indeed. Popular culture, ever ready to supply a pun, has come up with “broligarchy” as a way to describe this phenomenon.

But this is The Tribune! Why are they getting above their station and giving me US politics? I read them precisely to avoid this sort of thing!

That’s a fair question. Weirdly, though, the actions of Musk and Zuckerberg, et al. have quite an impact on us, and local news more broadly — so we do have a dog in this fight. It’s fair to say they’re not helping.

Since we started The Tribune, a big part of our growth has been driven by social media. Perhaps you first started reading us because you clicked on a link to a story of ours on Twitter (as was) or Facebook. Maybe you’ve gone one further and shared one of our stories on a platform (thanks). As a tiny enterprise, we could never afford to launch in print — we had to go digital. And the surest way to grow your audience online is to tap into the power of social media, where all sorts of people come to congregate.

But if you’ve spent much time on social media recently, it’s hard to escape the sense of things souring. A lot of what’s being put out there is demonstrably false, but little is being done to stop it. The news that Facebook is retiring its community of fact-checkers — even if their effectiveness is up for question — feels like a step in the wrong direction.

Then, of course, there’s the atmosphere. Disagreement has always been part of the social media mix. But vitriol, bile and aggression are now common currency. Angry reactions spark angry responses, driving up engagement. It’s all part of the business model.

That’s because the aim of these platforms is a simple one: keep you there. The more time you spend, the more revenue they can draw from their advertisers. And the deeper you get, the less likely you are to leave.

Both Meta (owners of Facebook) and X have now taken concrete steps to stop you leaving. The algorithms on both sites squash posts that include links you might click on and move off the platform — such as to news websites. In just one year, Facebook cut its referrals to news sites by 50%. Musk, meanwhile, has confirmed that X now limits the reach of posts containing links, and encouraged users to upload the content direct to X instead.

This means that social media is no longer just a place to discuss the news. For better or worse, it is the news. The owners of these sites would much rather you spent time reading a platform user’s opinion, instead of a report from a trained journalist who has spent days researching a story. A very small number of vast corporations are trying to fully control the flow of information. The accuracy of that information matters little.

The good news is: we can fight back. We don’t have to spend all our online time in an angry bubble, never sure what we can believe. This is why I loved Victoria’s story yesterday about the Sheffield Forum — where members are trying to get back to what online discussions can be at their best.

It’s also what we’re trying to recreate at The Tribune. We’ve dusted down an ancient technology — e-mail — to give you something that requires, and rewards, a bit of focus. We’re proud to say we’ve never had to ban anyone from our comments section — readers disagree often, but they are civil and courteous. In the angry, dopamine-addled online world of today, it feels like we’ve carved out a bit of a haven.

Of course, we’re getting to the bit where I ask for your support. But I do so because I believe we really can take on the tech bros. We don’t need to sit and take whatever the algorithms spew up. We can make a stand for proper journalism.

Now, we’ll never achieve Elon Musk levels of wealth and influence, even if scaled down to the Sheffield level. But the fact The Tribune is still here four years on, despite multiple predictions of collapse from naysayers, demonstrates that people do want good local news. If you feel like you’re the only one who feels depressed at what social media gives you, take heart. There are over 2,500 people in Sheffield who feel the same — and have invested in an alternative. An alternative run by three distinctly tech-phobic individuals, all living in Sheffield.

So… why not join them? Unlike the social media giants, we don’t give you full access for nothing. Although that feels free, the wealth accruing to the owners reveal it’s anything but. The data you provide in that exchange is very valuable indeed.

Our trade is much more transparent: your money for our journalism. The only data we ask for is your e-mail address. (So we can send you the e-mails.)

And slowly, slowly, we can turn the tide on disinformation. You’ll have heard already from us that we want to hire another journalist this year. That might not sound like much, but it would increase our team size by 33% — that’s loads more time to put into bigger investigations. It also means deeper, richer features that capture the agony and ecstacy of Sheffield life in all its glory.

Because actually, the way to win the battle is just to be better. Loads better, and way more satisfying than quick hits, clicky clicks and migraine inducing colour-drenched videos. There’s a community of people in this city who have looked at the car crash of clickbait and social media posts that passes for local news today. And gently, but firmly, they have said: enough. In doing so, they’ve put paid to an ever enticing idea: that good quality can be had for free.

So are you with them, and us? The tech bros would rather you spent your time scrolling through reams of angry, half-true and untrue comments. They’ve got all the algorithms and behaviour hacks on their side. But you don’t need to. Join us, and our campaign for proper reporting. Together, we can win.