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The Anti-Woke Playbook: Weaponizing Fear, Division, and Information in a Fragmented Media Age
Theme: How the segmentation of fear, information sources, and generational divides amplify division, shape biases, and undermine progress toward justice and equity.
Introduction: Shaping Thought and Emotion in a Fragmented World
At the recent Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Fes, Morocco, hosted by the EUROMED University, I addressed the growing role of tools like ChatGPT and other emerging technologies in shaping thought and emotion. While these tools have the power to inform, connect, and inspire, they can also be weaponized and manipulated to reinforce fear, spread misinformation, and segment society into isolated, divided pockets.
Regulation and awareness are critical as we navigate this evolving landscape. The ability to influence emotion and thought, once wielded by a few, is now amplified through technology and big data. The anti-woke movement, fueled by this same technology, is a stark example of how fear can be segmented, weaponized, and strategically deployed to suppress progress and dismantle justice.
We must remain vigilant, not just to these tools, but to how they are used — by whom and to what end.
