The Revoltion Will Not Get Likes
The Social Media Harm Machine
There isn't a single activist in my social circles that actually wants to be on social media. Being a social media manager for a movement is like being voluntarily assigned to digital self-harm duty. Getting doxxed has become such a rite of passage for leftists, we might as well start handing out merit badges. Meanwhile, platforms are openly throttling progressive content while boosting blonde trad wives explaining why women shouldn't have opinions. X has basically become 4chan's corporate cousin, and yet here we all are, still posting.
Why Though? Like, Seriously, Why?
Why do our movements keep feeding energy into platforms owned by techbro capitalists who are literally selling our DMs to cops? Why give free content to companies that see our existence as a Terms of Service violation?
Let's call it what it is: Addiction.
I (your friendly neighborhood bnkops admin) am straight up admitting it – I'm an addict. The doomscroll is real. My amygdala is basically playing Russian roulette every time I refresh: will it be a happy puppy or literal war crimes? Vegas slots probably have better odds for my mental health.
Breaking Free (No Judgment Zone)
Like any addiction, people need to find their own path out. I've gone cold turkey on mobile apps. Started writing on platforms I actually control. Pro tip: try going phone-free for just one hour a day. A 15-minute walk without your digital pacifier hits different – clarity comes through like [chef's kiss].
No shade though – addiction is addiction. And like any vulnerability, oppressors know exactly how to weaponize it. The right wing troll swarms are like digital locusts, except locusts eventually leave. Try blocking the endless wave of MAGA bots – it's like playing whack-a-mole with a broken mallet.
The Dystopia Is Not Coming - It's Livestreaming
These platforms are increasingly becoming real-world threat multipliers. Elon Musk and Trump have basically built digital brownshirt armies. Coming soon to a Twitter near you: Musk playing innocent about how his "metaphorical" AI-generated hate posts led to actual violence.
We have written at length about how leftists are making themselves vulnerable to attack by being on these platforms. The time to transition off was yesterday.
The Liberal Delusion
Liberals be like "don't worry, privacy laws will save us!" while we're already living in cyberpunk minus the cool aesthetics. Surveillance capitalism has pulled off the ultimate protection racket – pay us or you're not safe (but also you're not safe if you do pay us).
The liberal brain rot runs so deep they're trusting Elon "Definitely Not A Bond Villain" Musk with global satellite communications. Local activists using Gmail might as well CC their strategy docs directly to the opposition. Bonus points: your entire contact list gets implicated too!
It's Getting Worse, Fast
With the subtlety of a brick through a Starbucks window, these platforms are ramping up suppression of any non-capitalist thought. Today it's shadowbans, tomorrow it's sharing your location with "concerned authorities," and next week it's "predictive threat assessment" (aka pre-crime).
Straight bet: when mass deportations hit the US, every major social platform will have their data ready to go faster than you can say "just following orders."
Your Digital Exit Strategy (You're Gonna Need It)
If you're running an org heavy on social, here's your homework:
- Export your followers/following lists NOW. When (not if) you get banned, you'll want that rolodex
- Get those emails and phone numbers like you're a club promoter in 2005
- Meet your actual neighbors (yes, the ones behind those scary doors called "outside")
- Return to analog: Flyers, stickers, graffiti. Make the streets your timeline
Money Talks, So Stop Paying Your Oppressors
Stop throwing money at social media ads. You're basically paying your executioner for a slightly sharper axe. If you must spend cash on promotion:
- Plaster every telephone pole in a 5-mile radius
- Become the person coffee shop bulletin boards fear
- Make your car a rolling billboard
- Find local podcasters who aren't Joe Rogan clones
- Turn the subway into your personal art gallery
The Offline Revolution
Remember: The revolution will not be monetized. It won't have sponsored content. It won't be algorithm-optimized. And it definitely won't fit in your Instagram grid.
But it might just start with a conversation at your local coffee shop, a flyer in someone's hand, or a really spicy piece of bathroom graffiti.
Read More
Want more info to covince you to leave these platforms:
- Twitter is Dead, Long Live X
- Are you a leftist? Who is reading your secrets?
- Distributed Digital Organizing is the Way Out
- How To Not Get Got Making Content
"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house, but they might help us build our own somewhere else." – Audre Lorde (but make it digital resistance).
The revolution will not be monetized.
The revolution will not have sponsored content.
The revolution will not be algorithm-optimized.
The revolution will not be in your feed.
Immediate Actions:
- → Export your follower data today
- → Start building your physical mailing list
- → Set up local communication networks
- → Plan your platform exit strategy
- Audre Lorde