14 votes

Elon Musk and the meaning of ‘off the record’

11 comments

  1. [9]
    Deimos
    Link
    This is a follow-up to this article in Buzzfeed News from a couple of days ago, where the reporter published some information from an email that Elon Musk had marked as "off the record":

    This is a follow-up to this article in Buzzfeed News from a couple of days ago, where the reporter published some information from an email that Elon Musk had marked as "off the record":

    Though Musk prefaced one email with “off the record,” BuzzFeed News did not agree to that condition of the correspondence. (Per common journalistic practice, a conversation is off the record only if both parties agree to the terms. )

    10 votes
    1. [9]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. [2]
        RapidEyeMovement
        Link Parent
        The way I see it, is Musk has stepped off the deep end. Disconnected from reality or something. This is not an All rich people are out of touch/crazy. This to me is, Elon Musk is those things.

        The way I see it, is Musk has stepped off the deep end. Disconnected from reality or something.

        This is not an All rich people are out of touch/crazy. This to me is, Elon Musk is those things.

        7 votes
        1. cain
          Link Parent
          Yeah, Elon has been on a downward spiral since the Falcon Heavy launch, his ego must have just gotten too big for his own good and something just ticked in his mind, and slowly but surely he made...

          Yeah, Elon has been on a downward spiral since the Falcon Heavy launch, his ego must have just gotten too big for his own good and something just ticked in his mind, and slowly but surely he made his way to rock bottom with the pedophile comments and doesn't seem to know how to dig himself out of the hole.

          2 votes
      2. [3]
        thelynx42
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        I feel like this example is a pretty common thing for most people not to know... And I imagine that other situations like this, journalists have respected Musk's "off the record" statements. But...

        I feel like this example is a pretty common thing for most people not to know... And I imagine that other situations like this, journalists have respected Musk's "off the record" statements. But BuzzFeed is nothing but clickbait and gotcha journalism these days, so I'm not surprised that they'd be the first ones to through something like this out there.

        And as just a lowly internet dweller, reading the article where they posted something even though it says "off the record" is tacky, regardless if they had a right to do so or not. I feel like it shows the population how little of a shit they actually give about anything other than a story that will get people to click it.

        Edit: Okay, I admit I'm not really an expert in any of these areas. I'm just coming from a place of being a regular person with no extended knowledge. This whole thing seems really unprofessional from both sides. I'm not saying Musk should be defended here, but Buzzfeed isn't doing themselves any favors.

        Edit 2: Apparently people are really into BF's investigative journalism. I've seen this opinion echoed on other sites as well. However, I'm still going to call them clickbait based off of the examples I've seen included OPs comment below "We saw nuns kill children." I dunno, maybe I'm too harsh on them. I'll read through a few of their articles and reassess my views.

        5 votes
        1. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. Deimos
            Link Parent
            Yeah, Buzzfeed News actually puts out some incredible stories quite regularly. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago: We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage...

            Yeah, Buzzfeed News actually puts out some incredible stories quite regularly. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago: We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage

            Honestly, they should probably just give Buzzfeed News a completely different name, it's not a positive association and seems to taint many people's opinions towards their articles.

            13 votes
        2. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. Kachajal
            Link Parent
            Sure, he's a CEO and he should know of the convention. But the post made it sound like this is some sort of information that everyone in the "real world" knows, and only the "elite" do not. And...

            Sure, he's a CEO and he should know of the convention. But the post made it sound like this is some sort of information that everyone in the "real world" knows, and only the "elite" do not. And that's just silly.

            I'm all for bashing Elon if he makes yet another silly decision, but let's not be disingenuous about it.

            4 votes
      3. [2]
        Eva
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        It's not really lost or foolish, IMO. If you preface something with "off the record," the implication is "[If you ever want another interview this is] off the record." EDIT: and to add onto that,...

        It's not really lost or foolish, IMO.

        If you preface something with "off the record," the implication is "[If you ever want another interview this is] off the record."

        EDIT: and to add onto that, it allows you to high-road things if something does get leaked. For example, he's protected from a libel charge for that statement because he prefaced his email with that.

        3 votes
        1. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. Eva
            Link Parent
            Two things. First of all, you obviously didn't get what I was saying, and more or less went on a rant against something that I didn't even state a position on. Second of all, might just be...

            Two things.

            First of all, you obviously didn't get what I was saying, and more or less went on a rant against something that I didn't even state a position on.

            Second of all, might just be personal opinion here, but with your last sentence you're more or less doing the same thing as people who try to use Harry Potter to make points about morality; it kind of significantly devalues your argument, which might have convinced a few people if you'd have not included it. Again, though; mostly personal opinion for that.

            6 votes
      4. ourari
        Link Parent
        The former tends to follow the latter :)

        For a guy complaining so much about the media, he seems totally clueless as to how any of it works.

        The former tends to follow the latter :)

        1 vote
  2. demifiend
    Link
    I'm not the genius people think Elon Musk is, but even I know that if you want to talk to somebody and have a reasonable expectation of confidentiality, you should be talking with your attorney or...

    I'm not the genius people think Elon Musk is, but even I know that if you want to talk to somebody and have a reasonable expectation of confidentiality, you should be talking with your attorney or your physician -- not a journalist. And you definitely shouldn't be using email.

    6 votes
  3. ourari
    Link
    Musk is responsible for his own actions and fully owns them. Yet, he - like all of us - is a product of his environment. The Cult of Musk, the Musk Bros, the idolizing. Putting this man so far up...

    Musk is responsible for his own actions and fully owns them. Yet, he - like all of us - is a product of his environment. The Cult of Musk, the Musk Bros, the idolizing. Putting this man so far up on a pedestal that he's even been cast as the likely savior of humanity - on the one hand because of his 'green' cars and on the other for aspiring to colonize space to give us an alternative for the Earth we're ruining. Aren't those who are part of this cult or who have helped build it partially to blame - perhaps even responsible - for this unfolding meltdown?

    1 vote