Here are three EXCELLENT pieces of content on Bitcoin - coming from "mainstream" sources
Most of the reporting on Bitcoin is bland and unoriginal. There is a reason for this. And the exceptions to the rule lead to extraordinarily good content...
After spending two decades working in traditional media, I know a thing or two about how a newsroom works.
Hint: There is no grand conspiracy and no weekly all-hands-meeting with your local Illuminati-enforcer.
But there is a reason for the seemingly synchronised reporting coming from mainstream outlets from all around the world. And a reason why the exceptions to the rule lead to extraordinarily good content. Let’s see…
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Like all other things (think central banks) media organisations largely consist of a bunch of people, using machinery and their imagination to work on an outcome. They are bound together by incentives.
Of course, individual incentives do diverge. In media, there is always two audiences to consider. Internal and external. You can be loved by your colleagues or by the readers, sometimes both, sometimes neither.
But when faced with a choice, 90% of journalists chose their peers.
That's how you end up with bland, unoriginal reporting. If something has been covered by a major outlet in a certain way and using certain sources, a new benchmark is set.
This is why in some cases no more than one (questionable) source is needed for worldwide coverage - like in the case of Bitcoins energy consumption for example.
If 90% go with the mainstream per default, 8% go against it per default. They figured out that just hating everything that comes from "the elite" and will get them clicks and attention.
Many end up leaving traditional media and start their own outlets. They are often very successful because many people are very disenfranchised with the "mainstream".
The problem is: If you start out being against everything just because, you lack a coherent structure and goal in your reporting. Many will just go where the audience leads them, where the demand is. In the end, this leads to very gloomy content or outright crazy stuff.
Where the outliers come from
What about the 2% of journalists still unaccounted for?
They too go against conventional wisdom - but they do so in one very specific area of expertise. They have a goal in mind: To give people better information. Not to induce rage but to give their audience the tools to come up with an opinion of their own. If done well, this form of coverage shines bright.
In the past, these writers/podcasters/YouTubers were often silenced by the other 98% who correctly saw them as competition. But the internet has destroyed gatekeepers for good. Now even those within the 2% can always find other "mainstream" content that goes against conventional wisdom and covers a topic from a completely different point of view.
They can reference this content and use the weapons of the 98% against them.
Today I'd like to take a look at some of this content. Believe it or not but within the endless sea of misinformation and propaganda surrounding Bitcoin, some have produced pieces of extremely high quality.
Exhibit one: The Guardian
The Guardian isn't exactly known for its hardcore libertarian agenda. Most of the articles on Bitcoin are just providing a lazy mashup of tried and tested tropes we all know and love. But this one article was different.
The topic. Bitcoin in Nigeria. But with a twist. The journalist did something few dare to do. He actually went out and talked to real people in real places. He didn't hide behind (made up) stats and numbers or abstract concepts
Now I can tell you from personal experience that it's A LOT harder to write an article giving a distorted and detached take on a subject if you have interacted with the subject and have talked to people who are passionate about it.
With Bitcoin this is extreme.
I can usually tell you if the author has actually ever used it within a few sentences.
The Guardian article doesn't sugarcoat anything.
There is lots of criticism of Bitcoin in this article. Even pyramid schemes are mentioned.
Nigeria has one of the youngest populations in the world and is ripe for digital finance. With many people looking for ways to escape widespread poverty, pyramid schemes are proliferating. (The Guardian)
But the story by journalist Emmanuel Akinwotu (Twitter) is well researched and gives a good summary of how things are on the ground. The author manages to engage with the main question: Why?
Why are so many young people using Bitcoin despite all the bad things being written about it?
Naturally, the topic of politics and censorship comes up. Nigerians have felt the governments boots on their face long before the Canadian truckers.
Feminist Coalition, a collective of 13 young women founded during the demonstrations, came to national attention as they raised funds for protest groups and supported demonstration efforts. When the women’s accounts were also suspended, the group began taking bitcoin donations, eventually raising $150,000 for its fighting fund through cryptocurrency. (The Guardian)
And the article finishes strong - with the moral of the story being the core of the message: You can't stop Bitcoin so why even try?
The reality that cryptocurrencies cannot effectively be stopped had gradually dawned on the government, said the operator of one Nigerian crypto trading platform, speaking anonymously after having been targeted by the authorities. “They know they can’t really stop it. It’s out of their control, and what scares them is they are not used to being in this position.” (The Guardian)
Exhibit two: Arte
Number two of my extensive list of three mainstream pieces of content on Bitcoin coming from "mainstream" sources is of course the EPIC documentary on Satoshi done by the french director Remy Forte (Twitter).
When I saw it I actually had to reach out to Remy on Twitter to thank him.
If you haven't seen it yet, you're in for a treat. Watch it here with english subtitles.
The documentary was shown on arte, which is a joint venture of French and German public television.
I consider it a masterpiece.
Remy manages to tell the background story of Bitcoin and the Cypherpunks - without going too much into the technical details. He explains the "why" and "who" instead of only the "how".
He also manages to find a very elegant solution to the age old problem of "what am I going to show in my film on economics, computers and an anonymous founder".
Finally the film features experts from Europe as well as the US and shows that Bitcoin really is a global phenomenon.
Exhibit three: NDR
My apologies for featuring another non English video here but this one is truly special. I remember being on a German podcast as a guest, ranting about how shitty the coverage of Bitcoin is in mainstream media.
And the very next day the public broadcaster of northern Germany drops this gem.
I watched the whole thing with YouTubes English subtitles and they are pretty good. Give it a shot!
It’s a documentary on crypto-YouTubers who hype up their audience to sell them something or lead them down the path to leverage trading - via their affiliate link of course. There is a whole group of German crypto-influencers living in Dubai or Singapur who try to create panic or FOMO all day every day in order to lure their viewers in.
And because they get to talk about the subject every day, viewers consider them experts.
The documentary does a good job at differentiating between Bitcoin and “crypto”. Something that is important to me. Now, every time someone doesn’t understand the difference, I can send them the link.
I’m sure that I’ve missed countless other examples of quality reporting on Bitcoin from mainstream sources - I did that intentionally so I can do a second part in the future.
Now, in the words of the Critical Drinker: That’s all I got for today. Go away now! :)
Love, Niko
This post is sponsored by…
21bitcoin - The easy way to buy, sell, save and send Bitcoin.
21bitcoin is a Bitcoin-only app, not an exchange. No distraction, individual savings plan, very low fees, first class personal support, and a German bank account. Based in the Austrian Alps, available throughout Europe. Download.