This is what a digital coup looks like

“We are watching the collapse of the international order in real time, and this is just the start,” says investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr.

In a searing talk, she decries the rise of the “broligarchy” – the powerful tech executives who are using their global digital platforms to amass unprecedented geopolitical power, dismantling democracy and enabling authoritarian control across the world.

Her rallying cry: resist data harvesting and mass surveillance, and support others in a groundswell of digital disobedience. “You have more power than you think, she says.

Produced by: TED (recorded at TED2025 on 8 April 2025)