I agree with most of what you said. I'm all for criticizing. Believe it or not, I've actually challenged JW on several occasions in the comments of her articles. Or corrected.

And yes, they're human. They're going to make mistakes or be overly hyperbolize etc.

Yeezy given their impact they should be criticized. But not bashed or trashed or lied about. I won't tolerate bullying or being asked to participate in it. The author's use of 2nd person in her essay here does that and it's really for me riled. Lol.

I wish Jessica responded to criticism more BUT, I understand given the level of trolls she has it's no longer practical or serves a purpose for her.

I like what you said about a God's eye view. I get that by reading broadly rather than looking for one author who does that. I think in the end, it comes out in the wash when you read broadly. Like, Will Lockett writes about new technologies on the horizon specifically in regard to climate change. Crystal Rivers writes about processing environmental grief. JW covers a lot of broad topics and relates or ties them together. Like politics and environmental degradation. Covid and education. I read her as a cross disciplinary approach to hot issues of the day. I don't know of anyone else who consistently does that like she does.

I don't think she needs my help defending her. Her work stands on its own and she lets it speak for her. She's working off of Substack mostly now, thanks to Tony's behavior and the harassment of people like the author of this article. Medium is poorer for it so I hope all these idiots are happy.

I appreciate that you read through what Tony said. It was subtle, wasn't it? I appreciate your point of view but I disagree. What he did was encourage OTHERS to bully her by his choice of words because he's in a position of power now. Like a mob boss. Or what Donald Trump does. There will always be those jockeying for position and favor around those with power. If you suggest they peck, harass, intimidate, bully, threaten, or send a message...they'll do it. Once you become a leader you have to change how, act and how you speak, and be very careful what you say. You have to lead and be direct. Tony didn't do that. Then, by engaging with some of Jessica's trolls with validating language instead of a place of neutrality, he basically set them on her. Now there's this mob gaining steam. She already had her detractors, but he really put energy into them. That's not cool either.

And all because she asked a legit question. She asked about algorithm change. He said they didn't change it and said something about views. She then said, "but earnings went down before views did. Your explanation doesn't make sense based on what I'm seeing. Could you be mistaken or could somethinf else be a factor. Can you explain that?" Obviously in her own words, not mine. That's it. That's her crime. Tale as old as time.