--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despots, it turns out, are learning to…" description: "\"“Despots, it turns out, are learning to practice what journalist Rebecca MacKinnon calls “networked authoritarianism”—the use of the Internet to consol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anonymous-1_internet_despots-it-turns-out-are-learning-to-pra_603041.jpg" --- # Despots, it turns out, are learning to practice what… ![“Despots, it turns out, are learning to practice what journalist Rebecca MacKinnon calls “networked authoritarianism”—the use of the Internet to consolidate power. Rather than simply ban all digital communications, they realize, why not leave it partially open? Then dissidents will engage in public…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anonymous-1_internet_despots-it-turns-out-are-learning-to-pra_603041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anonymous-1_internet_despots-it-turns-out-are-learning-to-pra_603041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/anonymous-1_internet_despots-it-turns-out-are-learning-to-pra_603041.jpg) > ““Despots, it turns out, are learning to practice what journalist Rebecca MacKinnon calls “networked authoritarianism”—the use of the Internet to consolidate power. Rather than simply ban all digital communications, they realize, why not leave it partially open? Then dissidents will engage in public thinking and networking, which is a great way to keep tabs on them. “Before the advent of social media, it took a lot of effort for repressive governments to learn about the people dissidents are associated with,” as the writer Evgeny Morozov notes in The Net Delusion.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments now use partially open internet to monitor and control dissent while appearing tolerant. **In simple terms:** Despots exploit digital openness to spy on activists. Key Takeaway Recognize and protect digital privacy. Themes surveillance authoritarianism digital rights privacy Mood cautious critical Type analytical political When to use this quote - activist organizing - journalistic reporting - policy advocacy - online safety Key Concepts networked authoritarianism state control information warfare Questions to Reflect On - How can societies ensure internet openness without enabling surveillance? - What safeguards protect dissenters online? A Different Perspective Open platforms can still be weaponized, limiting true freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissidents/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Social media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-media/) ## Related quotes > [People like me who were engaging in brinkmanship with the party economic bosses and the open dissidents who were being arrested were pursuing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/people-like-me-who-were-engaging-in-brinkmanship-with-the-party/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [“space—75% of B2B customers say they rely on word of mouth, including social media, when making purchase decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/space-75-of-b2b-customers-say-they-rely-on-word-of-mouth-including/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Myspace is to social media what bologna is to meat. It technically is, but not really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/myspace-is-to-social-media-what-bologna-is-to-meat-it-technically-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tempted to type meaningless twaddle all the time on Twitter...with alliteration, no less!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tempted-to-type-meaningless-twaddle-all-the-time-on-twitter-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So you hate Facebook? Thanks for sharing that with me...on Facebook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-you-hate-facebook-thanks-for-sharing-that-with-me-on-facebook/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Social media is your opportunity to reach a massive number of people with transparency, honesty, and integrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/social-media-is-your-opportunity-to-reach-a-massive-number-of-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember if you ever do anything charitable make sure post about it on social media. So everyone knows how great of a person you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-if-you-ever-do-anything-charitable-make-sure-post-about-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Former social media user who got sick of it all when I was banned at Digg in 2007. Now Im back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/former-social-media-user-who-got-sick-of-it-all-when-i-was-banned-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always have super mixed feelings about how I see Social Media after a tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-always-have-super-mixed-feelings-about-how-i-see-social-media-after/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The ultimate test of a society's freedom is not how it treats its good, obedient, compliant citizens; it's how it treats its dissidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-ultimate-test-of-a-society-s-freedom-is-not-how-it-treats-its/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/america-will-not-pretend-that-jailed-dissidents-prefer-their-chains/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Dissidents are not imprisoned as in the domains of the Kremlin, in the old days. They do not have their brains blown out by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/dissidents-are-not-imprisoned-as-in-the-domains-of-the-kremlin-in-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Luckily I was not born in Eastern Europe, because I might have been born into the communist establishment and I'm glad I was not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amira-hass/luckily-i-was-not-born-in-eastern-europe-because-i-might-have-been/) [Amira Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amira-hass/) > [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Dissidents quotes > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Luckily I was not born in Eastern Europe, because I might have been born into the communist establishment and I'm glad I was not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amira-hass/luckily-i-was-not-born-in-eastern-europe-because-i-might-have-been/) [Amira Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amira-hass/) > [Dissidents are not imprisoned as in the domains of the Kremlin, in the old days. They do not have their brains blown out by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/dissidents-are-not-imprisoned-as-in-the-domains-of-the-kremlin-in-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/america-will-not-pretend-that-jailed-dissidents-prefer-their-chains/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The ultimate test of a society's freedom is not how it treats its good, obedient, compliant citizens; it's how it treats its dissidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-ultimate-test-of-a-society-s-freedom-is-not-how-it-treats-its/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Whenever there is injustice, oppression, aggression, violence, it's standard for it to be supported by those we now call "intellectuals," but typically not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/whenever-there-is-injustice-oppression-aggression-violence-it-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The "prophets" were what we would call dissident intellectuals. They provided critical geopolitical analysis, condemned the crimes of the powerful, called for justice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-prophets-were-what-we-would-call-dissident-intellectuals-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [My own feminist revolution evolved slowly, and traveled the world with me. To this day I have no idea what dissident professor or librarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/my-own-feminist-revolution-evolved-slowly-and-traveled-the-world-with/) [Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/) > [ \[Dissidents\] groups would benefit enormously from learning about Ho Chi Minh's ideas on how to defeat a more popular enemy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-duiker/dissidents-groups-would-benefit-enormously-from-learning-about-ho-chi/) [William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-duiker/) > [During the Cold War, the United States took its friends where it found them. If they were willing to cast their lot with us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/during-the-cold-war-the-united-states-took-its-friends-where-it-found/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Go back to the Bible, the Old Testament. I mean there were people who we would call intelectuals, there, they were called prophets, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/go-back-to-the-bible-the-old-testament-i-mean-there-were-people-who/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Privacy in one's associations... may in many circumstances be indispensable to freedom of association, particularly where a group espouses dissident beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/privacy-in-one-s-associations-may-in-many-circumstances-be/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) > [It's very important to remember that the philosophers were social dissidents. They were social critics. The man in the street or woman in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/it-s-very-important-to-remember-that-the-philosophers-were-social/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [I would very honestly just tell you that what I tried to do was simply respond to inquiries from people as they came in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-spitzer/i-would-very-honestly-just-tell-you-that-what-i-tried-to-do-was/) [Eliot Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-spitzer/) [Browse all 87 Dissidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Despots, it turns out, are learning to practice what journalist Rebecca MacKinnon calls “networked authoritarianism”—the use of the Internet to consolidate power. Rather than simply ban all digital communications, they realize, why not leave it partially open? 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