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Agitprop as tactical media | 10 comments

[new] cop-outs and big guns (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#1)
by amy on Tue Oct 14th, 2003 at 01:58:00 AM EURODISCORDIA TIME
(User Info) http://plagiarist.org

Just some brief thoughts: a frequent criticism of virtual demonstrations, as you've pointed out, is the "armchair protestor" effect. But what are the effects of the protest in either case? I find these can vary a lot, depending on the type of protest and the situation. For example, FloodNet has been used in a variety of protests, from the Mexican government to the Etoys corporation. Floodnet allows the armchair protestors to take action against the target's webserver - potentially interfering with the site's operation, and acting as a not-so-virtual sit-in. In the case of an e-commerce site, this can directly affect business and/or stock prices. In the case of an attack against a public relations website, its main usefulness can be in generating media attention for an issue. Floodnet actions have had a lot of success in this regard; the disadvantage being that labels of "cracker", "script-kiddie", are often applied to floodnetters. Then again, negative labels are certainly applied to street protesters as well.

While the internet may not seem to be a "real" place, what goes on there - business and public relations - is very real. And there are millions of eyeballs there. That the internet offers dissenters an opportunity to protest at this scale should not be dismissed. You might be protesting from your armchair, but the Big Guys are dishing out the Big Propaganda and Big Hassles from their armchairs too - it's a big playground, why leave it to the bullies?

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Agitprop as tactical media | 10 comments

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