Why is it so vital to subvert the behavioral architectures of coercion and control? We inhabit an increasingly complex world where nuance is all too rare and even the notion of “truth” is hotly contested. We could debate philosophy endlessly, but most people never step outside their comfortable assumptions. There are countless injustices to decry and causes to champion, yet cutting through the relentless tide of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation is nearly impossible. And when our message does break through, it’s often met with hate, mockery, and troll armies determined to drown it out.
Governments, big tech platforms, and security services enforce online censorship; laws criminalize protest and dissent, even labelling direct action and activism as terrorism. This censorship doesn’t merely suppress existing information—it also instills a psychic inertia in anyone who might otherwise speak up. In surveillance states like the UK, fear of retribution silences many well-meaning, compassionate people who would otherwise demand justice.
Worse still, those very censors claim to defend free speech without limits. They peddle propaganda, lies, and distractions at scale, serving the interests of “Big Brother” or whatever faceless power benefits from public confusion.
There are urgent causes demanding our attention. The blatant genocide in Gaza, carried out with political and financial backing from Western governments, unfolds on our screens every day. Yet anyone who calls for a ceasefire, supports Palestine Action, or protests in solidarity faces accusations of antisemitism, criminal charges, or arrest—despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes.
Climate breakdown is unleashing storms, heat waves, wildfires, and floods worldwide. Still, we endure denialism, back-tracking on climate accords, and a capitalist drive for infinite growth on finite resources. Citizens who speak out, protest, or take direct action against fossil fuels meet the same censorship, criminalization, and misinformation campaigns.
Meanwhile, debates over race and gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and migrant justice are manipulated to scapegoat minorities and divert attention from the real culprits: banks, corporations, and austerity-driven governments that have manufactured a cost-of-living crisis. Academic institutions and the humanities are being defunded, censored, or undermined, further eroding spaces for critical discussion.
These are only a few of the battlegrounds before us. That’s why I’m calling on cyberpunks, growth hackers, and the wider digital community to expose, disrupt, and dismantle the systems of undue influence, coercive persuasion, and social control that ensnare us. Only by hacking these architectures of power can we reclaim our voices, advance the urgent debates, and forge a more inclusive, equitable society—one truly worth living in.
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Hack the system and get your message heard: Become a Cyberpunk: Hacking the Behavioural Architectures of Coercion and Control
