Translation Counter-Information Network

Contra Info is an international multi-language counter-information and translation node, an infrastructure maintained by anarchists, anti-authoritarians and libertarians who are active in different parts of the globe.

The project started its activities in early 2010 in Athens, aiming to diffuse moments of social war on the territory controlled by the Greek State into other languages, and respective moments from the rest of the world into Greek. Nevertheless, both action and its multilingual documentation can be expressed effectively only by negating such territorial restrictions; therefore, having abandoned that initial approach since 2011, we spread translations but also original material with reference to various locations, in an ongoing effort to disseminate the polymorphous anarchist offensive against the existent anywhere in the world.

Contra Info is neither an organisation nor a political affinity group. Comrades and initiatives who participate in our network interact with each other in a self-organised, anti-hierarchical manner, enabling the broadest possible support to anarchic and revolutionary tendencies in any given context. Each participant in Contra Info comes from a different background, sharing one’s own unique analysis and distinct understanding of a borderless struggle for individual and collective emancipation from any form of servitude. However we are no democrats, nor do we perceive counter-information means as platforms where statists, patriots of all sorts, journalists, or domination’s lackeys of any kind are allowed to occasionally vomit their oppressive propaganda. We are declared enemies of every type of nationalism, sexism, racism, statism, capitalism, reformism or other authoritarian perceptions. We stand against fatherlands and motherlands, against patriarchy, religion and traditionalism, against the techno-industrial system and exploitation, against the State/Capital and the Law. We fight for the destruction of prison-society, for factual solidarity with hostages of social war, and for human, earth and animal liberation.

We welcome everyone to send us original communiqués of direct action, updates from the streets, open letters from imprisoned and persecuted fighters, multimedia, posters, booklets, and so forth. No matter if we strongly agree or deeply disagree with any given views, we will be pleased to get the word out.

We believe that diverse actions and opinions of anarchists or dignified rebels across the world can only be expressed without sectarianism and exclusions. Thus, regardless of the polemics that may break out at a local or international level among various tendencies of anarchy, for us counter-information is a weapon which facilitates the coexistence between individuals or collectives that reveal a diversity of theory and practice toward freedom. What’s more, we perceive the functions of counter-information media in a non-centralised manner, as much as we believe that related webpages should be linked with one another, thus foster a complementarity between them, and produce activity with their own responsibility, instead of becoming a copycat version of others.

This project complements and supports a wider anarchist network and comradely undertakings worldwide (webpages, radios, editions, etc.), aiming for even just a minimum informal communication between all those that dedicate their energy to counter-information beyond national and linguistic borders.

The different blogs of Contra Info constitute one and the same project, with particular focus on translation. Ever since the beginning of our online activity, we refuse to spread news items which derive from corporate sources and media that express the dominant ideology. Furthermore we do not prioritise our material; consequential momentum and counter-information surges are generated by random initiatives, consistent contributions, and the particular interest of participants or contributors, far from specialisations. If we have firsthand knowledge of occurrences, we try to transmit an original content. However, most of the time, we do not re-publish texts, regardless of if we consider them important or interesting —that is, even if we want to translate them or we have already translated them in another language. We may republish material—always mentioning our source—only if we have something additional to offer to its diffusion, or we feel a specific matter is not well diffused, or is of extreme urgency. On the other hand, we gladly post original texts, translations and other material whenever we receive them directly, and as long as their content agrees with our ‘terms of publication’. We also particularly appreciate it when people forward texts or links for our information, but if the exact same items are already disclosed on other comradely webpages, we simply see no practical reason of reproducing them.

We encourage individuals, groups and initiatives worldwide to send us their feedback, and support our network with their vital participation.

Our warmest greetings go out to all anarchist prisoners worldwide, as well as to those who fight for unconditional freedom inside and outside the walls, without ever bowing down to the servants of Power.

Rage and consciousness!
Contra Info
March 2015