Neil Oliver posits a provocative question: was the internet, born from the "unholy union" of DARPA and MIT, always a Machiavellian project?

In a powerful exchange, historian Neil Oliver posits a provocative question: was the internet, born from the "unholy union" of DARPA and MIT, always a Machiavellian project? Was its creation a deliberate bait to first unleash a torrent of information sharing among the "hoi polloi," only to later corral and control the very monster they unleashed?

Glenn Greenwald provides a masterful analysis, affirming this inherent duality. He explains that while all major communication technologies—from radio to television—have been ultimately co-opted by existing power structures, the internet was uniquely "diffuse" and vulnerable to subversion by those outside the establishment.

As Greenwald outlines, the state's fear was immediate. From the Clinton administration's push for backdoor access following the Oklahoma City bombing, the desire to surveil and control was always present. The internet's initial "Wild West" anonymity was a direct threat.

But the true precipitating events for the crackdown, according to Greenwald, were 2016's populist shocks: Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump. These events instilled "serious fear" in Western power centers. The "Frankenstein monster" had truly escaped, leading to the intensified, ongoing campaign to re-control the digital public square and limit the power it gave to the people. 

In a powerful exchange, historian Neil Oliver posits a provocative question: was the internet, born from the "unholy union" of DARPA and MIT, always a Machiavellian project? Was its creation a deliberate bait to first unleash a torrent of information sharing among the "hoi… pic.twitter.com/2ZlAsYVMNZ

— Camus (@newstart_2024)October 25, 2025