Dark Web's Role in Political Activism
While the dark web is associated with illicit activities, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, and child pornography, political activists and privacy advocates defend its use. The dark web is a series of encrypted networks that can hide users’ identity and location and are only accessible through special software. It consists of sites that require a username and password to log in, and a majority are hosted on the Tor network (which is named after the onion router that it uses to mask users’ identities). It also includes services that allow for communication via forums and chat rooms as well as commerce through marketplaces. The largely unregulated nature of the dark web has made it an attractive space for disseminating alternative COVID-19 information. While mainstream social media platforms strive to actively monitor and delete misinformation, the dark web is rife with it. The availability of forged certificates to obtain COVID-19 vaccines, as well as false information and conspirac...