Luke "Ming" Flanagan is one of Ireland's most successful independent candidates ever. Ming regularly shares advice with those who want to follow in his footsteps. He recently told The Irish Times:
‘The one thing you’ve got to do is be remembered in politics’
When news reports appeared about Gerry Hutch, a.k.a. The Monk entering politics, Daniel Pocock, candidate for Dublin Bay South remembered his old friend Hutch Hussein, formerly President of the Victorian state branch of the Australian Labor Party.
Putting it in the context of Ming's advice, Hutch's wikipedia entry captures the things Hutch Hussein is remembered for:
Hatice "Hutch" Hussein is an Australian feminist, activist, and social worker. She served as the elected State President of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) between 2016 and 2019. Upon taking this role, she became the first President in the party's 125-year history to be from an ethnic minority background, from a Muslim background, and from the LGBT community.
Here are some videos of Hutch Hussein and Daniel Pocock:
Mr Pocock makes the point that social control media gives activists like Hutch Hussein a false sense of empowerment. People have come to see the truth in this during 2024 as Elon Musk's Twitter / X appeared to help one US election candidate more than the other. The Guardian newspaper recently decided to stop using the Twitter / X platform.
Mr Pocock's point is equally valid for all enterprises, whether they be political parties, non-profits, small businesses or whatever.
Let's not forget Operation Trojan Shield, whereby the secure messaging app ANOM was really controlled by the FBI and Australian Federal Police (AFP). Social control media is really not much better than this and unlike an app operated by the police, social control media can sell information about their users to just about anybody.