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Ask HN: "Newsbombs" as a way to combat authoritarian propaganda?

8 points by mherrmann ↗ HN
Authoritarian regimes control the media and block internet access to unwanted web sites. This prevents citizens from gaining access to at least other viewpoints than the political propaganda. To combat this, would it be possible to go on public transport and open a free WiFi hotspot where people can download, say, Wikipedia and PDFs of the latest headlines of independent news outlets, ideally translated into the local language?

7 comments

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trinovantes
Probably safer and more reliable to smuggle USBs with outside information like they did with North Korea
giaour
Wifi hotspot locations can be triangulated, so if the regime has penalties for sharing information they want to suppress, this could be a dangerous plan for a civilian within the regime to undertake.
mherrmann
If you're sitting on a bus and only switch it on briefly?
giaour
Maybe? That would reduce the risk to the holder, but it also reduces the usability of the network, since you'd need to coordinate beforehand with potential users. That of course opens up the possibility that one of the users will give you up to the authorities you're trying to evade, who could then just wait for a bus with a wifi signal to pass by, then search all passengers for a hotspot. The risk of that happening is directly proportional to the number of users, so best to keep the whole affair small. And of course a cop could always get lucky and just catch you fiddling with a hotspot on a bus.

And how are you getting a network connection to forward over wifi while riding this bus? If the network is purely local and used to access PDFs on a server on your person, then you would need to carry all that contraband information with you (and consequently increase the risk you're taking on).

There's prior art you could follow from various resistance movements, though most of the examples of people not getting caught use long-range, broadcast signals like shortwave. You need sustained proximity to use regular wifi, and that strikes me as way less safe. The other thing to consider is that both ends of a wifi connection can be triangulated, so a broadcast signal is far safer for end users (unless it requires special equipment that is itself suspect or forbidden).

logicalmonster
Does anybody else recognize the contradiction of being on a thread that complains about some people not being exposed to enough different sources of information and then downvoting/killing WaxedChewbacca's comment merely because his interpretation of events differs with what their government told them?

This isn't an information problem: it's a mindset problem.

The only people who are resistant to authoritarian propaganda and misinformation are those who are going to question everything that they're told on all topics.

pizza
There is a much older, well-tested solution to this problem: a strong and just legal system that protects and enshrines unfettered public discussion as a fundamental right. Sure, there is tech that exists to promote the spread of whispers of news, but ultimately the goal is not to have to whisper about it.