Democratic Practice in the Era of Platforms: From Clicktivism to Open-Source Intelligence

Abstract

Clicktivism is the practice of supporting a cause through the internet employing, for example, online petitions made available on crowdsourcing platforms. It has been criticised for the low level of commitment demanded from clicktivists. Platforms themselves are the centre of controversy because of their business model—based on monetizing users’ data—and their role in generating ideological bubbles and disseminating disinformation. However, studies suggest that people who participate in online politics also do so in their offline lives, and platforms enable new forms of activism and humanitarianism. This article focusses on the new technopolitic practices supported by digital platforms, access to open data, and the employment of open-source intelligence. The 2010s are a turning point for technopolitics: they mark the expansion of the platforms for political engagement, the start of the territorialisation of the internet, and the emergence of new democratic practices to campaign, generate evidence, and sustain alternative stories for humanitarianism and activism. This study identifies three main challenges for these democratic practices: namely, the proliferation of disinformation and hate speech, the lack of data literacy, and the monopolistic practices of big tech companies.

Activismo de datos y cambio social. Alianzas, mapas, plataformas y acción para un mundo mejor. Madrid, 2020.