#87: The Twitter Ban and the End of Social Media

In November, CrimethInc. was banned from Twitter by Elon Musk, part of a concerted campaign by right wing trolls and the world’s richest man to shift global political discourse to the right. Why is this happening now, and what should we do about it? This episode collects three months of our writings and coverage of developments with social media as it enters a new phase of consolidation and cooptation. We open with an article published in October—before our ban—tracing the evolution of Twitter from a protest tool developed by anarchists for use at mass mobilizations into a corporate platform controlled by a right-wing billionaire. Next, we share the statement we issued when Twitter banned CrimethInc. from the platform, as well as a poster developed to take our response offline and into the streets. The episode concludes with Canary in the Coal Mine: Twitter and the End of Social Media, an in-depth analysis of how communications in movements for social transformation have evolved within the shifting landscape of technology, politics, and resistance in the past decades, concluding with suggestions for ways to take action beyond the nightmare of corporate social media. {January 30, 2023}   -------SHOW NOTES------   Table of Contents: Ex-Worker Introduction {0:01} Episode Introduction {0:36} The Billionaire and the Anarchists: Tracing Twitter from Its Roots as a Protest Tool to Elon Musk’s Acquisition {1:49} Elon Musk Bans CrimethInc. from Twitter at the Urging of Far-Right Troll {14:55} Whose Tweets? Our Streets: A New Poster and Zine for an Offline Media Offensive {19:08} Canary in the Coal Mine: Twitter and the End of Social Media {23:14} Conclusion {46:06} The episode opens with The Billionaire and the Anarchists: Tracing Twitter from Its Roots as a Protest Tool to Elon Musk’s Acquisition. Next, we shared our report on the ban: Elon Musk Bans CrimethInc. from Twitter at the Urging of Far-Right Troll. We went on to share a short article introducing a new poster, Whose Tweets? Our Streets: A New Poster and Zine for an Offline Media Offensive. You can find a direct link to the poster here. Want to put some up around your town? Consult our Field Guide to Wheatpasting for how-to tips. Finally, the episode wraps up with Canary in the Coal Mine: Twitter and the End of Social Media CrimethInc. wasn’t the only radical account banned from Twitter, of course. As The Intercept, Jacobin, and others have reported, other radical outlets who’ve gotten the chop include It’s Going Down and many other anarchist, anti-fascist, and critical journalist accounts. Want to stay connected without Twitter? Follow us on Mastodon and Telegram and subscribe to our RSS feed. You can even find us on YouTube, Tumblr, and Reddit. If you want to help us continue to reach people offline, order stickers and others materials to distribute here.