Autocrats have flipped the script on the digital revolution. The same tools that were meant to free us are now controlling us—here’s how the internet became their ultimate weapon.

The dawn of the digital age promised a renaissance for democracy and freedom.

The internet, we were told, would be the great equalizer—a platform where information flowed freely, empowering citizens and toppling tyrants. Techno-optimists painted a vivid picture of a hyperconnected world where knowledge knew no borders, where the voices of the oppressed could finally be heard, and where transparency would shine a light on the darkest corners of power.

The early days of the World Wide Web seemed to confirm these lofty ideals. We witnessed the birth of citizen journalism, the rise of grassroots movements organized through social media, and unprecedented access to information that was once the privilege of the few.

But from where we stand today, the digital revolution has taken a fucking turn.

The utopian vision of a digital commons has given way to an outlook dominated by tech giants whose influence rivals that of nation-states. Personal data is harvested on an unprecedented scale, often without meaningful consent. Meanwhile, the digital divide has grown, creating new forms of inequality between the connected and the disconnected.

We're forced to confront an uncomfortable fucking truth: the technologies we embraced as instruments of liberation have, in far too many ways, become tools of control.

The dream of a tech-powered democratic world hasn't vanished. Not yet. But it has been complicated, fucked and dragged through the mud by the realities of our digital present.