Trump’s Attack on the Left: They’re Aimed at Us All
Following pressure from the United States, the tech collective Autistici/Inventati is shutting down its service. Our contributor’s blog is disappearing along with it.
As I write this, my blog, “annalist,” is disappearing from the internet. Nineteen years of texts, commentaries, event listings, archives: My blog was my “digital home.” I don’t have a separate website.
It's not because I decided enough was enough. Who even reads blogs anymore? It is disappearing because at the end of August, the U.S. government announced that it had designated the tech collective Autistici/Inventati, whose blogging platform noblogs.org hosts my blog, as a global terrorist organization. It said the collective was extremist and operated digital infrastructure for violent Antifa cells and other radical left-wing groups around the world. The consequences: Their bank closed their account, their autistici.org web address became inaccessible shortly afterward, and any U.S. citizens continuing to interact with A/I face stiff penalties.
The collective has existed for 25 years, and the condition for using its free technical services is that users share its values. These include opposition to fascism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and militarism. The collective denies allegations that it supports terrorism.
When the Progressive Social Infrastructure Vanishes
I have known some members of the collective for 25 years, since we worked together at the media center during the protests against the G-8 summit in Genoa, providing information for the live news feed. Together, we watched in horror as Italian police used extreme violence at the Diaz school across the street. Experiencing something like that creates a bond. We are still friends today. I was glad to have found a platform for my blog where I could be sure that neither the platform nor the data would be sold to anyone.
I started the blog because my friend was accused of terrorism and arrested in July 2007. The case was dropped without resolution several years later, and he was released from pretrial detention after just a few weeks. In October 2007, I began writing about what we experienced afterward, almost exactly 19 years ago. That included extensive surveillance. It is particularly ironic that my blog began with a terrorism accusation and is now ending because of another one. On Sept. 6, A/I announced that, out of concern for the many people associated with the collective and its project, it had no choice but to shut down completely and discontinue all its services.
This marks the end of 20,000 blogs, 20,000 email addresses, 5,000 mailing lists and 1,500 websites. In other words, the destruction of a vast amount of communications infrastructure used by progressive social movements. An Instagram account can get suspended — everyone (hopefully) knows that. But this is left-wing infrastructure disappearing, and that is something new.
Jab after Jab
As for me, I can move the content and blog somewhere else, no question. Annoyingly, many links to my posts will be lost in the process.
But the broader significance goes much further and, in my view, is still being underestimated. The Donald Trump administration is delivering a series of jabs, large and small, against the International Criminal Court, against HateAid, Rote Hilfe and now an Italian tech collective. All are organizations that do not break the law and do not fall under U.S. jurisdiction. But they are being subjected to measures they cannot challenge because there is no avenue for appeal. The accusation is not even that they themselves are terrorists, but that they support terrorists. Sometimes it is “Antifa,” sometimes people targeted by online hate, sometimes legal proceedings against Netanyahu; ultimately, it is always those whom Trump and his team identify as political opponents in their crusade.
It takes some courage to stand with those accused of terrorism. I know that from experience. The “chilling effects” — the silence and withdrawal of the many others who think twice about continuing to publicly voice criticism — are one aim of such accusations against political opponents. It is obvious whom Trump has in mind: leftists, antifascists, LGBTQ people, feminists and many others. It is easy to see what is happening, and the only thing that can counter it is solidarity with those being targeted, because ultimately, this is directed at all of us. It is still far too quiet.
As I write this, my blog, “annalist,” is disappearing from the internet. Nineteen years of texts, commentaries, event listings, archives: My blog was my “digital home.” I don’t have a separate website.
It's not because I decided enough was enough. Who even reads blogs anymore? It is disappearing because at the end of August, the U.S. government announced that it had designated the tech collective Autistici/Inventati, whose blogging platform noblogs.org hosts my blog, as a global terrorist organization. It said the collective was extremist and operated digital infrastructure for violent Antifa cells and other radical left-wing groups around the world. The consequences: Their bank closed their account, their autistici.org web address became inaccessible shortly afterward, and any U.S. citizens continuing to interact with A/I face stiff penalties.
The collective has existed for 25 years, and the condition for using its free technical services is that users share its values. These include opposition to fascism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and militarism. The collective denies allegations that it supports terrorism.
When the Progressive Social Infrastructure Vanishes
I have known some members of the collective for 25 years, since we worked together at the media center during the protests against the G-8 summit in Genoa, providing information for the live news feed. Together, we watched in horror as Italian police used extreme violence at the Diaz school across the street. Experiencing something like that creates a bond. We are still friends today. I was glad to have found a platform for my blog where I could be sure that neither the platform nor the data would be sold to anyone.
I started the blog because my friend was accused of terrorism and arrested in July 2007. The case was dropped without resolution several years later, and he was released from pretrial detention after just a few weeks. In October 2007, I began writing about what we experienced afterward, almost exactly 19 years ago. That included extensive surveillance. It is particularly ironic that my blog began with a terrorism accusation and is now ending because of another one. On Sept. 6, A/I announced that, out of concern for the many people associated with the collective and its project, it had no choice but to shut down completely and discontinue all its services.
This marks the end of 20,000 blogs, 20,000 email addresses, 5,000 mailing lists and 1,500 websites. In other words, the destruction of a vast amount of communications infrastructure used by progressive social movements. An Instagram account can get suspended — everyone (hopefully) knows that. But this is left-wing infrastructure disappearing, and that is something new.
Jab after Jab
As for me, I can move the content and blog somewhere else, no question. Annoyingly, many links to my posts will be lost in the process.
But the broader significance goes much further and, in my view, is still being underestimated. The Donald Trump administration is delivering a series of jabs, large and small, against the International Criminal Court, against HateAid, Rote Hilfe and now an Italian tech collective. All are organizations that do not break the law and do not fall under U.S. jurisdiction. But they are being subjected to measures they cannot challenge because there is no avenue for appeal. The accusation is not even that they themselves are terrorists, but that they support terrorists. Sometimes it is “Antifa,” sometimes people targeted by online hate, sometimes legal proceedings against Netanyahu; ultimately, it is always those whom Trump and his team identify as political opponents in their crusade.
It takes some courage to stand with those accused of terrorism. I know that from experience. The “chilling effects” — the silence and withdrawal of the many others who think twice about continuing to publicly voice criticism — are one aim of such accusations against political opponents. It is obvious whom Trump has in mind: leftists, antifascists, LGBTQ people, feminists and many others. It is easy to see what is happening, and the only thing that can counter it is solidarity with those being targeted, because ultimately, this is directed at all of us. It is still far too quiet.
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