Bitcoin Journalism with Leigh Cuen

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“When I say these things, the reactions I have had in the past that are most comparable, are when I was studying extremist groups.”
— Leigh Cuen

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Zoom
Date: Friday 5th June
Project: Coindesk
Role: Journalist

The role of a journalist is to question, educate and inform. A truly free press is a fundamental pillar of a free society, and unbiased and objective reporting is crucial in getting a broad understanding of any industry. 

News corporations are now arguably more partisan and divided than ever before, highlighted by how Fox News and CNN have become partisan propaganda outlets. Fox News is pro-Trump and will defend him and his policies almost without exception; alternatively, CNN is pro-democrat and will question almost everything Trump and his administration do. Within Bitcoin, there can be a similar lack of objectivity and willingness to challenge the status quo critically.

The Bitcoin community are often referred to as its immune system, by being aggressive and vocal about anything that seemingly questions the direction or ethos of the network they protect it from coercion and negative outside influences. While this is mostly a useful stance in an industry that has more than its fair share of scammers and questionable projects, this can make the role of journalism within Bitcoin tricky to navigate.

Despite long and firmly held beliefs, Bitcoin evolves, as does the size of the user base and how they use Bitcoin. Journalists must challenge commonly held beliefs, even if these means hard criticism from Bitcoiners.

In this interview, I am joined by Leigh Cuen, a journalist and writer at Coindesk. We discuss the importance of journalism, Bitcoin as a peaceful revolution and the strict narratives that are held by Bitcoiners.

TIMESTAMPS

00:05:05: Introductions
00:05:45: Thoughts on current world situation
00:07:09: Kelly Loeffler
00:09:26: Corruption in the world
00:13:49: Media spin on stories
00:19:00: What does the future hold?
00:22:32: Cypherpunk Women
00:24:56: Different uses of Bitcoin
00:28:01: Treatment by government
00:30:13: Bitcoin as dominant currency
00:35:26: Bitcoin and Game theory
00:38:58: Government response to Bitcoin
00:42:28: Bitcoiners and freedom
00:44:42: Are governments able to be toppled?
00:50:29: What is Bitcoin?
00:54:43: Parallels between Bitcoin and the sex industry
00:57:34: Reaction to Leigh’s work
01:01:14: Writing about challenging subjects
01:07:42: Conflict psychology
01:09:37: Role of journalism in asking uncomfortable questions
01:12:15: Final comments

 

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SHOW NOTES

PodcastPeter McCormack