GAFAM Became a Mainstream Term, and Why Words Matter
Conveying problems in useful terms
About a decade ago, in social control media, Julian Assange and I came up with "GAFAM" because some European politicians said "GAFA" and the "M" seemed conspicuously absent. Now, in 2026, we not only see many sites and channels saying "GAFAM"; we see dedicated sites called "GAFAM" something. It's quite an accomplishment. Similarly, Wikileaks adopted "social control media" after I had coined it and the term "openwashing" became very prevalent after I began using it a lot around 2007. It was modeled after "greenwashing" (at the time a very commonly used term).
I don't typically boast about coining terms that truly became mainstream (popularised over time), but it's important to set the record straight because there will also be some denialists online that misplace credit or deny not that attribution is overdue (I never asked for attribution!) but that one meritlessly claims credit.
At the end of the day, I know what I coined and what I borrowed rather than coined; I don't need other people - including anonymous trolls online - lecturing me on it. Nor do I need "hired guns" lecturing me on what death threats I receive.
Society communicates and communication is about language. If one can alter the way people communicate (words impact the ability to express certain concepts/ideas), then one can control the direction society will take. Impairing propaganda attempts (e.g. calling parrots "intelligence", back doors "confidential", and outsourcing "cloud") should be the first step. █