08-17, 13:00–13:50 (US/Eastern), Little Theatre
This presentation explores how communities are developing resilient information-sharing systems that outperform traditional journalism. Drawing from research on independent journalism in China, Patrick will examine how these organic networks function as advanced social technologies that challenge conventional understanding of information distribution. The talk invites the HOPE community to reimagine information infrastructure that can withstand authoritarian control, resist corporate manipulation, and genuinely serve community needs through collaborative problem-solving and the application of security expertise in distributed systems.
Patrick Boehler is founder of Gazzetta and leads a media research lab that studies how communities resist information control in autocratic settings. A former reporter, editor, and newsroom executive (The New York Times, South China Morning Post, Radio Free Europe), Patrick has spent the last decade exploring the interplay between technology, journalism, service, and resistance. He’s especially interested in decentralized information networks, anti-censorship strategies, and how hacker ethos can transform journalism’s future.
