I have been chortling to myself about the Mark Rober storm this week, but it has also got me thinking about whether the internet is the ultimate democracy or just a swirling mess of political bias.
If you have somehow managed to miss the fun, it all started with a video where the much respected Mark Rober, who has a cool 65 million followers on YouTube, appeared to demonstrate that a Tesla is easily fooled and are child killers:
I cannot remember where I first saw the video, but it did appear on my digital travels and it has quickly amassed 13 million views and counting on YouTube alone, so you can rest assured that the total number of eyeballs on the story will be HUGE. In the world of influencer marketing, Rober is very influential. No doubt Tesla would not have enjoyed the video.
I am not a Tesla fan, not because I have been told to hate Elon Musk but simply because electric cars do not work for my personal life, so wasn’t especially interested in the video. But…… I did find myself wondering whether it was a realistic test given the general absence of walls with perfect scenery painted on in my experience of driving around, plus I questioned the need to use a child mannequin for added dramatic effect.
It turns out that there was actually probably a lot more that was not entirely as it seemed with the video. I say ‘probably’ as I have no doubt that a lot of the furore that has subsequently erupted is a result of the political hot potato that is Trump & Musk.
Although I have no idea if all these are true, the following accusations have been levied at the whole story:
- he deliberately messed up the auto pilot / full self drive settings to ensure failure
- the wall was pre-cut in the knowledge that the car was going to pile through and obliterate the child
- he is working with a Lidar (rival technology) company, which just happened to see a 27% jump in stock price…
Now, you would be a fool to believe that everything you see online is the gospel truth and I think that a healthy scepticism is no bad thing, but the backlash has been fairly epic.
So much so, that Rober issued a ‘raw footage’ video from a different angle to try and defend his integrity. Again, I don’t really understand the technology of the Tesla cars, but many claim that this saviour video just makes the whole thing worse as it indicates there were multiple takes, as the speeds were different and the autopilot was activated at different distances from the wall.
If you want the precise detail of the questionable aspects of the whole stunt, this thread is probably the best summary, although reading through the comments on the YouTube video is also worthy of some pop corn. There is a fairly balanced analysis of the saga on The Verge, which is also a good read.
Why am I even writing about this, as I have already declared a lack of interest in a Tesla car? I have found it interesting from an internet marketing perspective as it really does highlight the fragility of influencer marketing and poses some existential questions around the democracy of the internet.
Personally, I love a good debate. Note the word ‘debate’ rather than ‘argument’. As long as you are respectful and listen to whoever it is you are talking to, I think that it is absolutely fine to disagree and I would even to go as far as saying that disagreements are vital for the enrichment of the mind. In theory, the internet is the ultimate debating ground as it is hard to fool / lie to the masses and you will pretty much always find those who disagree with your opinion and who are prepared to put up a rebuttal. If you blatantly lie, you will most likely be called out. I like this, as it takes power away from the media moguls.
Sadly, this theory evaporates when you introduce keyboard warriors who simply do not engage in respectful debate. Social media has created a shouty environment in which it would appear that people think you just need to shout louder to win an argument. It therefore cheapens the debate very quickly and the magic is lost.
It is also impossible to avoid bias, and this whole Rober saga feels to me as though it is loaded with political bias. The whole premise of the ‘test’ was pretty weak – how many landscape walls have you seen spanning roads and would it not have been wise to deploy all the driver assistance that is available? It feels as though it was an opportunist way of jumping on the anti-Musk for cheap political gain. I have no proof, but you do have to wonder if it was also rewarded financially by the Lidar company?
Who knows exactly what happened behind the scenes, but there is no doubt that brand Rober has taken a knock. He has lost a chunk of the respect and trust that he has built up over many years in one video. If the accusations made against the video are true, he has no grounds for complaint. If it is just a big Democrat v Republican spat, then it should be a reminder of how fragile reputations can be and why it is probably best to stay clear of politics.
One thing is for certain – you should not believe everything that you see online.
Or in the mainstream media, but that is another post…
