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Hacktivism

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Spirituality

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Synonyms

Cyber protest; Cyberactivism; Hacker activism

Introduction

Hacktivism is one of the most significant phenomena in the digital age, influencing our everyday lives and shaping the face of contemporary activism. As our lives become increasingly digitized, the online space has become an integral part of our daily existence. The internet not only provides a means of communication and access to information but also serves as a platform for expressing opinions, advocating for beliefs, and striving for societal changes. It is in this context that hacktivism takes on particular importance, becoming a vital tool for influencing society, politics, and the shaping of our reality (Paget, 2012).

Hacktivism: Overview and Definition

The term hacktivism is a combination of two words: “hacking” and “activism” (Romagna, 2020a). It was first applied by the Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc) in 1996 to describe the use of electronic media technologies in human rights advocacy (Denning, 2015). Over time,...

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References

  • Chadwick, A. (2006). Internet politics. States, citizens, and new communication technologies. Oxford University Press.

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  • Milan, S. (2015). Hacktivism as a radical media practice. In C. Atton (Ed.), The Routledge companion to alternative and community media (pp. 550–560). Routledge.

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  • Denning, D. E. (2015, September 8). The rise of Hacktivism. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. http://journal.georgetown.edu/the-rise-of-hacktivism/. 20 Aug 2023.

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  • Karagiannopoulos, V. (2018). Living with hacktivism (Palgrave studies in cybercrime and cybersecurity). Palgrave Macmillan.

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  • Karagiannopoulos, V. (2020). A short history of hacktivism: Its past and present and what can we learn from it. In T. Owen & J. Marshall (Eds.), Rethinking cybercrime: Critical debates (1st ed., pp. 63–86). Palgrave Macmillan.

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  • Paget, F. (2012). Hacktivism. Cyberspace has become the new medium for political voices. White Paper–McAfee Labs, 16.

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  • Romagna, M. (2020a). Hacktivism: Conceptualization, techniques, and historical view. In T. Holt & A. Bossler (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of international cybercrime and cyberdeviance (pp. 743–769). Palgrave Macmillan.

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  • Romagna, M. (2020b). From sit-ins to# revolutions: Media and the changing nature of protests. Bloomsbury Publishing.

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  • Vegh, S. (2003). Classifying forms of online activism: The case of cyberprotests against the World Bank. In M. McCaughey & M. Ayers (Eds.), Cyberactivism: Online activism in theory and practice (pp. 71–95). Routledge.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. AGH, University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland

    Dorota Żuchowska-Skiba

Authors
  1. Dorota Żuchowska-Skiba
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dorota Żuchowska-Skiba .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA, USA

    Joan Marques

Section Editor information

  1. University of Physical Education, Krakow, Poland

    Agnieszka Smrokowska-Reichmann

  2. Institute of Applied Sciences, University of Physical Education in Krakow, Krakow, Poland

    Edyta Janus Ph.D

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Żuchowska-Skiba, D. (2024). Hacktivism. In: Marques, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Spirituality. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32257-0_48-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32257-0_48-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-32257-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-32257-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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