Borkowski Media Trends: Grok's MechaMeltdown, Birkin Bag & MORE
PLUS: The Salted Path | Bieber is back | The Gen Z Stare
Grok’s Mecha Meltdown demonstrates fallout of meddling with AI
When Grok, X (formerly Twitter)’s built-in AI, was beginning to give what might be termed liberal or progressive answers to user queries and community notes, and even criticising President Trump, X’s owner Elon Musk attempted to revamp it to be more ‘anti-woke’.
The AI apparently took its brief so seriously that X has now been forced to delete Grok posts containing antisemitism, praising Hitler and even referring to itself as ‘MechaHitler’.
On one hand it’s a worrying illustration of the extent to which we cannot control generative AI. It has something resembling a mind of its own but none of the moral inhibitors that keep humanity (just about) in check.
On the other it’s another meme that would be notably embarrassing for any other CEO in the world.
Elon Musk is big enough that a certain amount of reputational gravity bends around him, but he still appears bruised by his breakup with President Trump, lost X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino earlier in the week, and has now seen one of his pet products go rogue.
Grok’s liberal bias is one failure, its lurch to fascism when its behaviour was tweaked another, but perhaps the most personally damaging to Musk is the fact that ‘MechaHitler’ is theorised by many to be the result of X’s engineers projecting Musk’s politics onto the bot.
The inference the machine learning appears to have taken from Musk’s ideology makes a mockery of his project to launch a new ‘centrist’ American political party when the proposal is already straining credibility before it’s even officially launched.
Why Jane Birkin’s €8.6 Million Bag Speaks to a Bigger Fashion Shift
In 2025, TikTok is awash with videos celebrating the rise of “#oldmoney” as a full-blown aesthetic, impressively racking up over 8.6 billion views. The appeal? Looking effortlessly expensive, understated, and logo-free. It seems that brands like The Row and Polène have become aspirational touchpoints for Gen Z, embodying a refined kind of restraint. Their minimalist silhouettes with hefty price tags still speak volumes, but only to the trained eye.
The Birkin, once fashion’s flashiest handbag flex, one could argue has started to feel out of step with the times. To younger consumers raised on the idea of conscious consumption and anti-bling aesthetics, the Birkin often symbolises a kind of aspirational excess that no longer makes sense in this economy. Why spend tens of thousands on a bag you didn’t even want, in a colour you couldn’t even choose just for the status of being offered it? To also then never use it, but that’s a different conversation.
The original Birkin wasn’t flashy at all. It was designed for Jane Birkin in the 1980s after a conversation on a flight with Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas. The first Birkin was a plain black leather tote with minimal gold hardware. It was spacious, practical, and elegant in the most effortless way. A far cry from the crocodile-skin versions that would come to dominate the brand’s legacy. That original spirit, utilitarian and soulful, is exactly what today’s fashion audience is craving. The most expensive handbag ever sold wasn’t new, glossy, or rare in the traditional sense. It was authentic. It had holes in the corners and scratches on the leather. It was falling apart. It was worn. And that’s what made it worth €8.6 million.
Today, shoppers are combing Vinted, eBay, and resale platforms not for pristine "it-bags" but for pieces that have lived a life. Arguably, Gen Z are looking for pieces with character, provenance, and simplicity with history. Jane’s Birkin, not a status symbol but a tool of her everyday life, was exactly that. It resonated not as a trophy bag but as an extension of her identity. So, whilst old money still dominates on the surface, the real shift is emotional. The next wave of luxury isn’t about showing you have money. It’s about showing you have taste, and perhaps more importantly, a story. The new power move isn’t owning the newest version of something iconic. It’s owning the first, the worn, the original, and wearing it like it’s no big deal.
In a market that once celebrated excess, the €8.6 million Birkin sale is a quiet declaration: authenticity is the ultimate luxury.
The tides turn on Raynor Winn as the Salt Path gets rocky
Raynor Winn, or should we say Sally Walker, has found herself embroiled in a storm of scrutiny over her bestselling memoir The Salt Path. Published in 2018, the book has resurfaced following the release of a film adaption starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs as Walker and her husband Moth. The book details the couple hiking the British Coastal Path and wild-camping, after an alleged failed investment resulted in the loss of their home. Tragically in the novel, Moth is also diagnosed with a degenerative disease the same week they lose their home. It is this combination of hardship upon which the book rests, and it is arguably what adds a poignancy to the tale, elevating it from travelogue to heartfelt memoir.
An Observer investigation supported by interviews and public records, alleges her homelessness stemmed from the embezzlement of around £64,000 from a former employer, and suggests according to medical experts, that her husband Moth’s corticobasal degeneration diagnosis may have been overstated.
The fallout has been swift and sharp, a key neurological charity severed ties, several speaking events were shelved, and the film adaptation which has already grossed £7.6 million and is eyeing international awards, is under threat.
Winn struck back firmly, publishing redacted clinic letters confirming Moth’s illness, providing a detailed statement defending the book’s truthfulness, and has vowed to take legal action.
This storm shows no sign of abating. The question of publishers’ duties to fact check has also come under scrutiny, as beyond legal checks, there seem to be no obligation to verify the truth of a memoir. But as money continues to roll in, and audiences show a proclivity towards remarkable stories over gritty realism, it is unlikely that Winn’s embellished tale will be the last such controversy.
Paradoxically, this amplified attention has held public consciousness and boosted book sales. Ultimately, this crisis is testing the enduring tension between authenticity and narrative hook, raising industry-wide questions about the reliability of memoir. Whether Winn will emerge vindicated or if the tides have turned remains to be seen.
Justin Bieber Launches new album & new chapter
Justin Bieber has made headlines these past few weeks, signalling what could be the start of a new chapter in his career and image. After a viral video of him talking to the paparazzi about “standing on business” and fatherhood circulated…and today he released a whole 20 song album...
Could this mark the beginning of a reputation rebuild for Justin Bieber? Since the start of his career as a teen pop sensation, Bieber has been involved in numerous controversies that have contributed to a negative public image which has at times overshadowed his music.
Today’s events hint at a carefully considered new PR strategy that might be on the horizon. The album leans into themes of forgiveness, romance, and Bieber’s ongoing mental health journey.
Perhaps this confessional could play a key part in softening his public persona and repositioning him as a figure of growth and redemption. Although the album release might have been a surprise, the apparently refined PR strategy behind it might just encourage Bieber to clean up his act, get back to making music.
The Gen Z Stare: Service with a Side of Silence
First, there was the millennial pause, that slight hesitation before speaking on video; a hangover from growing up with camcorders you had to set up manually rather than TikTok’s instant capture. Now, a new generational tic is catching attention across tills, counters and reception desks: the Gen Z stare.
At first glance, it may register as poor service - a deadpan, unblinking expression where smiles once lived. But look closer; it becomes clear this is not laziness or social ineptitude. It is something more deliberate, a subtle and silent response to absurd or entitled behaviour.
As Urban Dictionary puts it, the Gen Z Stare is "a stare or gaze when a person, usually a millennial or older, seems to lack basic knowledge and understanding, and may have a sense of entitlement". It is usually triggered when someone says something so tone-deaf, unreasonable or bizarre that it short-circuits basic interaction. It calls to mind the now-infamous comment on a TikTok bean soup recipe: “But what if I don’t like beans?” The unspoken reply is simple; then do not order the bean soup.
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Unsurprisingly, some older customers are outraged. “People just stare at you when you walk up to the counter now,” one Reddit user laments. But for many young workers, the stare is not rudeness; it is self-preservation, a boundary in jobs where emotional labour is expected but rarely rewarded.
While the pandemic may have dulled social skills and handed Gen Z an overgrown manual for anxiety, this is not about awkwardness. The stare says, I will not pretend your nonsense deserves my emotional labour. No more fake smiles for stars, tips or the approval of people who think baristas are beneath them.
Unlike the millennial pause, the Gen Z stare is not a tech fumble. It is a quiet refusal to coddle the rude, the childish or the entitled; it is a subtle rewriting of the social contract between customer and worker. So, if you find yourself on the receiving end, do not take it personally. Take it inward. It is not bad service. It is a soft rebellion, a blank-faced revolution, one silent glare at a time.