So you've taken up the task of copying and protecting all of the data that the oligarchy has deemed objectionable. Commendable. Don't quit doing that.
Now what?
Information is useless unless it's shared. You might as well have hard drives full of random 1s and 0s generated by an RNG if you're not communicating that data. Information isn't really information unless it's communicated.
Alright, but anyone with a brain cell or two knows what's next. The next phase is outright censorship, and not just of government information assets, but broad censorship. They don't need a way to justify it. Even with the First Amendment, they'll make some idiotic American exceptionalism argument, mirroring the way other authoritarian regimes will say "Wellllll, free speech works for those other countries, but... things are different here. We're better!" and the dipshits who voted us into this mess will uncritically lap it up like the good little ass-kissers they are. America!
And the signs are already here. The bill being proposed in response to DeepSeek R1 wants to make it illegal and punishable by a million dollar fine and up to 20 years in prison for just owning a DeepSeek model. You can tell me the sky is falling. Shit, maybe I am panicking a little. But I'm not taking my chances. These psychopaths have foolishly put all their cards on the table and are starting to show what they're capable of, so the time is well past for giving them the benefit of the doubt. My point is: broad censorship of any kind of data that threatens the hegemony is a very real possibility.
So the time to develop robust, offline systems of mass information exchange is now. I don't mean we need start planning to do it in the near future. I mean we need to start doing it right the fuck now.
Let me draw a parallel with my experience from one of my other hobbies (besides data hoarding lol), amateur radio. The amateur radio community attracts a lot of "prepper" types who are mostly interested in "emcomm". I could explain the problems with a lot of these guys (though I definitely agree with them to a large degree...), but that is neither here nor there. A very common theme among people who get into amateur radio for emergency communication is the expectation that they can get licensed, buy a cheap Baofeng radio and then never use it until a future emergency happens. I've had to explain many times that if they do this without practicing the necessary skills, learning some basic radio and antenna theory, and learning how to communicate effectively on the air, they're going to be fucked when the actual emergency happens because they'll have no clue how to actually use the gear they own.
Or to put it another way: An emergency is the worst time to be learning the skills you need in an emergency.
The same applies here.
It is of utmost importance that you start forming decentralized, offline networks of mass information exchange and distribution immediately.
This can start very small. Buy a few refurbed 8TB HDDs, fill them up with whatever information you feel might be deemed contraband in the near future, trade them with a buddy who you can trust will make a few copies of them and pass them on. Maybe set up an agreement with your buddies that they have to make a specified amount of copies of the data. Or set up a trading agreement. Just whatever you do, don't use the internet to exchange this information because it can blow your cover and it can be censored.
Learn about opsec. Use dead drops to preserve your anonymity. Learn how to encrypt your data for plausible deniability. Use paper-and-pencil encryption methods to obscure your communications. And generally, don't be an idiot.
Start practicing these methods and start networking in meatspace with other people who have already begun such efforts, or are interested in joining yours. That last part is important. This is no time to reject allies. No time for ideological purity tests. If someone is sincerely interested in countering censorship, no matter their own opinions or motivations, they are an asset to the cause.
However you choose to organize it, what matters is that you start practicing systems of information distribution that are robust to censorship right now. Before it's needed. Because it might be needed very soon.
