Technofascism

In the context of Donald Trump’s second election, and particularly during his campaign, a term emerged — or rather re-emerged: “technofascism.” Some of the web and social media giants showed strong support for the new American president, and the Republican Party drew closer to the major Silicon Valley companies.

In the past, these platforms were more inclined to show support for certain progressive causes (notably women’s rights, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights or the inclusion of marginalized people). They were even seen as tools well suited to mobilization and activism, as observed during the Arab Spring or the “#MeToo” movement.

However, we are now seeing that support withdrawn, likely due to their rapprochement with the Trump administration. The various web giants now seem to support other ideological positions, notably the defence of male identity, authoritarianism, homophobia, transphobia and support for the far right.

IN SUMMARY

The term “technofascism” is therefore used to describe this rapprochement between social media and web companies and an increasingly significant radical fringe of the American political landscape, where economic, technological and ideological interests appear to converge.