Playful digital citizenship in wartime: Civic practices and algorithmic imaginaries in the North Atlantic Fella Organization
2026-07-07
This article articulates strategies citizens engage in to reclaim their agency in an increasingly fragmented and unmoderated algorithmic public sphere. Drawing on the case of the North Atlantic Fella Organization (NAFO), we demonstrate how playful, allegorithmic civic practices constitute a participatory response to disinformation at the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Capitalising on their algorithmic literacy, algorithmic resistance, and algorithmic becoming, allegorithmic citizens may find alternative ways to challenge the status quo in wartime, mobilising resources to support communities in crisis when traditional governance mechanisms fail. With the growing interest in harms from online humour and memes in democratic societies, NAFO’s playful reclaiming of the notions of algorithm extends understanding of civic participatory practices. But on a more fundamental level, these allegorithmic citizenship acts foster social cohesion and solidarity among social media users who question the ethical responsibilities that come with witnessing a distant war unfold on their feed.