Milpamrica, a social network for resisting the Musk algorithm

[cbabe]

https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-12-25/milpamerica-a-social-network-for-resisting-the-musk-algorithm.html

Milpamérica, a social network for resisting the Musk algorithm

More than 74 land defenders from various First Nations have created an online space they say is free of ‘racism and neoliberal discourse,’ designed for the posting of stories from Mesoamerican lands and their diasporas

NOOR MAHTANI
Dec 24, 2024

A month ago, Donald Trump appointed Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, to his incoming presidential administration. The owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, will direct the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) beginning in January, and has promised to “send shockwaves through the system.” That same day, Andrea Ixchíu, a Maya Quiché activist originally from the lands known as Guatemala who is currently living in exile in Mexico, and who is the coordinator of the Hackeo Cultural organization, launched an initiative alongside 74 other Mesoamerican First Nations human rights advocates that is designed for online resistance. They founded a social network that is “free of racist and neoliberal discourse” as an alternative to Musk’s platform. “His algorithms exclude us. In the conversation about climate change and the environment, we are not present. Social networks like X and Instagram have become filled with messages of hate,” she says in a telephone interview. Currently, the platform has 266 members and a peer-led content moderation system.

Milpamérica.org is an autonomous network for posting stories about Mesoamerica and its diasporas. The platform was created in order to connect land defenders, climate justice warriors, communities in resistance and the diaspora and dissidents who fight for Mother Earth. The idea was not only driven by Musk’s appointment. It also stemmed from users’ rumblings about how best to exchange knowledge in the digital era, and from elders’ insistence on the fact that neither governments nor corporations will solve the climate crisis.

Its call to action was mobilized through a chain of dozens of environmental activists who had become sick of mainstream social media. They penned a mission statement for Milpamérica in which they collectively named a “living solution” to climate change. “We are the communities, collectives and peoples who cure bodies — territories — spirits in times of ecocide and genocide,” states the text.

… more …

[onecaliberal]

1. K&R