A Case Study
The
Challenge
In a world where access to knowledge is being threatened, how do you inspire people to protect it?
Our
Campaign
What will our life online be like in 25 years? Will knowledge be free and open?
To bring this question to life, the Internet Archive created the Wayforward Machine, an interactive tool that takes you to the year 2046, to experience the many ways our online world is being threatened by surveillance, censorship, paywalls and political firewalls.
A riff on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (our search engine and archive of 685 billion webpages), the Wayforward Machine anchored a social campaign spanning hundreds of pieces of content, amplified by 14 global partners, generating media coverage in more than 30 news outlets.
New Twitter Channel:
@IA2046
Broadcasting from 25 years in the future, our new Twitter account @IA2046 spun a dystopian tale of the Internet Archive and its allies fighting to preserve knowledge on the brink of destruction.
Featuring futuristic animated videos and take-overs by a dozen campaign partner organizations, our month-long immersive Twitter experiment inspired followers to fight with us to protect our digital rights.
Partner
takeovers
Partner organizations also fighting to preserve knowledge and promote human rights rose to the challenge, creating their own storylines, graphics, and animations. Our global partners were able to build awareness of their present day work, while having a little fun in this future world.
Wow, I just learned so much from the archives about how activists met the challenges of their time and led human rights change. Thanks for taking me there, Wayback Machine v2046!
— InternetArchive2046 (@IA2046) October 8, 2021
I’d love to stay, but I think I need to go home now with this new knowledge. pic.twitter.com/8HMwaVsyVw
→ follow the takeover by @witnessorg
Thanks for checking in @IA2046. Our solar seems to be stable now—wish we could have chimed in sooner, but such is life on antisurveillancetopia. We have enough juice to break through for the next hour and share some of what’s happened since 2021. #IA2046 https://t.co/hIzCL6uVGL
— Fight for the Future (@fightfortheftr) October 20, 2021
→ follow the thread by @fightfortheftr
So, here in 2046, authors are left without the essential protections, partners, and outlets they used to rely on to create and share their writings. Their works cease to reach readers because the public cannot access books and articles. It has been devastating. #IA2046 pic.twitter.com/Z3fKJ7efHu
— Authors Alliance (@Auths_Alliance) October 13, 2021
→ follow the thread by @Auths_Alliance
User-generated
content
Some of our most creative posts came from our @IA2046 followers. They produced futuristic videos, news announcements, and entirely new storylines we never would have imagined.
Things are going better for some of our friends in other countries... What's going on with you in 2046? Send us a video report at: https://t.co/Pxsf8CLqdu @LibraryFutures @little_wow pic.twitter.com/PPySlqtFiG
— InternetArchive2046 (@IA2046) September 30, 2021
Yes, yes, and yes. Keep them coming: https://t.co/Pxsf8CLqdu pic.twitter.com/KiOcwNdteh
— InternetArchive2046 (@IA2046) October 1, 2021
Social
content
Our “Imagining Dystopia” timeline from 2021-2046 featured the future political, social and economic events that lead to a vast loss of access, privacy and security in our online lives.
How did things go so wrong? We know most of you don't have access to information anymore, so we'll be sharing some history lessons over the next few days. Stay tuned. https://t.co/mBdEBe1oB5 pic.twitter.com/P9R003CRfY
— InternetArchive2046 (@IA2046) September 30, 2021
This is what @internetarchive headquarters look like these days... #IA2046 pic.twitter.com/OhM2q3XZyc
— InternetArchive2046 (@IA2046) October 18, 2021
The buildings may be crumbling, but hope is still alive! We don't need the old structures when we have a community of people who care about #accesstoknowledge pic.twitter.com/B9XPR8qyyE
— InternetArchive2046 (@IA2046) October 20, 2021
Media
coverage
Our Wayforward Campaign generated news coverage in more than 30 outlets, from the US to Poland, France to Mexico. Here are a few examples:
