Protests break out [18] in Russia over the new internet restrictions [19] imposed by the Putin regime, while social media and instant messaging have become the "new public square [20]" for the Gen Z protests [21] that have swept the planet over the past months. Exemplifying the identification with online culture, a pirate flag [22] from a Japanese anime series has become the global emblem [23] of the Gen Z resistance. The new youth social media bans [24] in a growing number of countries are opposed [25] by human rights and civil-liberties groups for good reason. Yet the dystopian side [26] of digital technology becomes more apparent each day—from the climate impacts [27] of data centers, to cynical attempts [28] to sell nuclear power as "clean energy" (sic [29]!) to meet the surging electricty demand, to the digital colonization [30] of human consciousness. Protests are also emerging [31] to the new techno-fascism [32], and this critique must be central to any true oppositional movement. In Episode 321 of the CounterVortex podcast [33], Bill Weinberg grapples with the contradiction.
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Production by Chris Rywalt [37]
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