Can you imagine what a digital white ethnostate or cybercaliphate might look like? Having spent most of my career on the inside of online extremist movements, I certainly can. 2024 could be the year neo-Nazis, jihadists, and conspiracy theorists turn their utopian visions of creating their own self-governing states into reality—not offline, but in the form of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).
DAOs are digital entities that are jointly managed without central leadership and operate on a blockchain basis. They allow Internet users to create their own organizational structures that no longer require the involvement of a third party in financial transactions and rulemaking. The World Economic Forum described The DAO as “an experiment to rethink the way we connect, collaborate and create.” However, as with all new technologies, they also have a darker side: they are likely to give rise to new threats arising from decentralized extremist mobilization.
Today, there are already over 10,000 DAOs, collectively managing billions of dollars and numbering millions of participants. So far, DAOs have attracted a wild mix of libertarians, activists, pranksters, and hobbyists. Most DAOs I’ve come across in my research sound innocent and fun. My personal favorites include theCaféDAO, which aims to “replace Starbucks” (good luck with that!); Doge DAO, which wants to “make the Doge meme the most recognizable work of art in the world”; and HairDAO, a “decentralized asset manager solving hair loss.” But some DAOs take a more radical tone. For example, the Redacted Club DAO, which is full of alt-right code and conspiracy myth references, claims to be a secret network with the goal of “killing” the “evil meta lizard king.”
2024 could be the year that extremists start using DAO strategically. Policies, legal contracts and financial transactions that have traditionally been the domain of governments, courts and banks can be replaced by smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies. The use of anonymous Bitcoin wallets and opaque cryptocurrencies such as Monero is now widespread among extremists whose bank accounts have been frozen. The transition to fully decentralized forms of self-governance is only one step.
Beyond the practical reasons that encourage extremists to create their own self-governing structures, there is also an ideological drive: their fundamental distrust of authority. If you believe that the deep state or “global Jewish elites” control everything from governments and Big Tech to the global banking system, DAOs offer an attractive alternative. Conversations on far-right fringe platforms like BitChute and Odysee reveal that there is a great appetite for decentralized alternative forms of collaboration, communication and crowdfunding.
So what happens if anti-minority groups create their own digital worlds in which they impose their own governance mechanisms? What are the stakes if trolling armies start collaborating through DAOs to launch election interference campaigns? The activities of extremist DAOs can challenge the rule of law, pose a threat to minority groups, and undermine institutions that are currently considered the main pillars of democratic systems. Another risk is that DAOs can serve as havens for extremist movements, allowing users to circumvent government regulations and the surveillance activities of security services. They can also allow extremists to find new ways to raise funds, plan and plot radicalization campaigns or even attacks. While many governments have focused on developing legal frameworks to regulate AI, few have even acknowledged the existence of DAOs. Their looming exploitation for extremist and criminal purposes is something that has remained under the radar of global politicians.
Tech expert Carl Miller, who has long warned about the potential abuse of DAOs, told me that “although DAOs behave like companies, they are not registered as legal entities.” There are only a few exceptions: the US states of Wyoming, Vermont and Tennessee have passed laws to legally recognize DAOs. With no regulations in place to hold DAOs accountable for extremist or criminal activities, the big question for 2024. will be: How can we ensure that the metaverse does not spawn digital white ethnostates or cybercaliphates?
