Digital prefiguration: Social media

Hereby my introduction of the open discussion / workshop 'Digital prefiguration: Social media' during D.2h5 on March 1, 2026 in Utrecht.

Prefigurative politics

During this meeting, we will discuss prefigurative politics, or prefiguration for short. Shaping our anarchist ideals in the here and now is an essential part of anarchism. You find it in all shapes and sizes, and I bet that every anarchist, but also many people outside of anarchism, consciously or unconsciously shape the world we so desperately want to see. Think of becoming vegan, running spaces such as the ACU, helping each other (mutual aid), standing up for the oppressed, squatting, opposing fascists, forming collectives, boycotting, washing dishes at the Pinksterlanddagen, you can come up with all sorts of things. There is something for everyone and experimentation is encouraged. Nothing is mandatory, and trial and error is allowed. We anarchists don't wait for a ready-made revolution to be delivered, we live the revolution!

Big tech

I don't need to explain to anyone that during the rise of the computer and especially the internet, corporate powers have shifted. Especially with the rise of the smartphone 15-20 years ago, big tech has gained a huge influence on society and politics. Big tech has produced a perverse new upper class of billionaires, and their dangerous alliance with fascism demands a new form of our attention.

BIG TECH = BIG CAPITAL + FASCISM

Not that this combination is new, but not on this scale.

Social media

That is why I thought it was time to introduce the concept of “digital prefiguration”. And I want to start with talking about social media. Because in recent years, big tech has gained more and more influence over social media. Through the use of manipulative and addictive algorithms, censorship of left-wing accounts and bias towards right-wing voices, there is no longer any doubt that big tech is implementing the agenda of the far right. This was possible because the social media we use was owned by capitalists and could therefore easily fall into the hands of big tech. The only remedy for this is to ensure that we take and keep control of social media ourselves. Fortunately, this is already the case, but far too many of our comrades are still addicted to big tech social media.

Alternatives

These alternatives to big tech social media have been developed through trial and error over the past ten years. At first, everyone was on their own remote island, but eventually a standard way was developed to allow the various alternatives to communicate with each other (the Fediverse). The software of these big tech alternatives is, of course open source, and together with decentralisation, also an important principle within anarchism, it has become impossible for big tech to gain control over it.

The best-known alternative is Mastodon. Created as an alternative to Twitter, but has since surpassed this. Other alternatives include Pixelfed for Instagram, Peertube for YouTube, Loops for TikTok, Lemmy a.o. for Reddit, etc. There are more than sixty alternatives, installed on many servers. To give an example, Mastodon has more than 2,800 servers with more than ten users. This includes servers that focus on anarchists and other left-wing people.

Functions social media

Social media has multiple functions for people who are politically active. It is a way to make people aware of what is going on, a way to create a community and, of course a way to express yourself/be yourself. For the first reason, we can of course still be active on big tech social media, but only to post propaganda (especially by groups). So not to engage further. For all other reasons, the alternatives mentioned above are sufficient. 

How can we escape!?

I am curious to hear what my comrades think about this? How can you escape this toxic capitalist cycle? How can we ensure that we are not, or at least less, tempted by big tech and start using these alternatives? But perhaps you are all already on the Fediverse, use it daily or intend to do so, and I am just preaching to the choir. 

Then the question is: how do we get our comrades who are not here to do the same? 

Depending on the number of people, let's form a few groups and talk about this openly. Without judging each other. Afterwards, there will be time to ask questions.