Meanings
alternative hactivism
- InternetuncountableThe practice of promoting a political agenda by hacking, especially by defacing or disabling websites.
Hacktivism is a form of activism for social change that appropriates computers and electronic networks for this purpose. Also called electronic civil disobedience, hacktivism is geared to political ends.
2010, Pramod K. Nayar, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 1021 more example
My aim will be to identify and highlight the potential problems of the existing approach that is followed when dealing with hacktivism and its impact on user rights, protesters, and overall cybersecurity.
2018, Vasileios Karagiannopoulos, Living With Hacktivism, Springer, →ISBN, page viii
Origin
Blend of hack + activism, a portmanteau coined in 1994 by a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish haktywizm
- haktywizmTranslations
Cite this entry
hacktivism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hacktivism
“hacktivism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hacktivism. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hacktivism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hacktivism.
Source: hacktivism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.