ON THE ONLINE SPACE
From The Internet Map, a bi-dimensional presentation of links between websites on the Internet.
In many ways the collective itself and our work has evolved since our launch, and particularly over the last year, with the online - and while we may have envisaged how these spaces would practically facilitate our work, we did not anticipate how intrinsically linked they would be to the subjects we investigate.
Even prior to the pandemic, to some extent RAKE worked remotely; both the first iteration of We May Meet One Day and our launch exhibition were largely planned online, across different countries. The majority of our audience has been built through social media and digital outreach, and RAKE Community 2020 would have never been possible without the connectivity available through the internet; allowing us to bring together participants across the globe, collaborate remotely, and virtually exhibit in the middle of a pandemic.
The online space has also, in the context of the past year, become a lifeline for many, keeping friends and families connected, and making it possible (and more bearable) for the majority to stay indoors through multiple lockdowns. But there are palpable dangers to this ease of connection, and the constant presence and availability of others.
Within our first project, we explored how this online space is the ideal environment for far-right recruiters to operate. Perpetual connectivity gives recruiters unique advantages; the ability to target individuals at any time, to be a constant presence in their lives, to send misinformation and propaganda directly into their homes, and to do so anonymously.
This may be even more prevalent now, where lockdowns and stay at home orders have isolated already vulnerable individuals, making them ripe for online recruitment and abuse. And this constant connectivity combined with the extreme pressure of a global pandemic and simple excess of time has allowed thousands to be drawn into complex misinformation campaigns, causing very real harm, often to already marginalised groups.
Online spaces can feel in many ways isolated from reality, echo chambers in which information propagates, and consequences aren’t always apparent. The lines between virtual and real become blurred; and in the case of far right recruitment, violent language and ever more extreme incitements become self-perpetuating.
The ubiquity of the internet in all our lives, has far reaching ramifications - to privacy, freedoms and even our individual safety. But it can also be a place to build communities, organise mutual aid, and find comfort; a place to uncover injustices, hold power to account and form global movements.
This duality of the online space is really an indication of its reality. Technology and the internet are integrated into nearly everything we do, and these spaces now exist as extensions of the real world, sustaining and recreating the complexities of life, society and culture.