Hackspaces before the state elections: “What is technical is always political”

What are hackspaces doing in the shift to the right? Members from four hackspaces in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania talk about how they educate people about racism, deal with controversial opinions and support people.

The members of Hackspaces keep an eye on federal and state politics. Not just when it comes to hacker laws or state trojans. – All rights reserved: Hackspace Rostock

While Saxony-Anhalt was electing a new state parliament, island chaos was taking place on Rügen at the same time. The hacker event was sold out four months in advance, with many tech enthusiasts from other federal states and even outside Germany attending. Success finds Flo, who does thathttps://inselchaos.de/">InselChaosas a member of thehttps://port39.de/">StralsunderHackspace Port39co-organized, “still a bit surreal”.

But in addition to the desire for technology and tinkering, many participants had something else going on this weekend: worries about their own election day in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on September 20th. The surveys before the state elections show that democratic parties are even more popular here than in Saxony-Anhalt. But the AfD is also likely to become the strongest force in the Baltic Sea state.

Port39 is a local branch of the Chaos Computer Club. Namely those in whose area the fewest people live. “We are the most sparsely populated chaos,” says Flo, a little proudly. "New events actually need at least three attempts here before we even know whether they work or not. We have a completely different catchment area than Berlin, Hamburg or Cologne."

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is not only the federal state with the thinnest population density, but also the lowest life satisfaction, the lowest wage level and one of the federal states withhttps://www.morgenpost.de/politik/article409909823/mehr-rechte-straftate...Most right-wing extremist crimes per inhabitant. The members of Hackspaces have long seen it as the task of progressive spaces like theirs to remain stable.

“The last island chaos before the island turns brown”

Port39 runs a hackspace in Stralsund where regular meetings and workshops take place. It is programmed, soldered and 3D printed together. This year Port39 invited people to InselChaos for the second time, with a program between “technology, society and creativity”.

There are also political focuses: last year they showed the migration documentary “No Land for Nobody”, this year they showed the documentary “https://katapult-mv.de/im-fruehling-die-bruecken/">ImSpring the bridges“ about protest against right-wing extremist marches in Demmin.

It is sometimes said cynically that it is “the last island chaos before the island turns brown,” says Flo. For him, the political focus of the community is not a mere byproduct of the shift to the right, but the why behind every technical question: “Everything that is technical is always political.”

“The schools up here have huge problems with racism”

Port39's focus is on education, because schools have failed to teach media and digital skills for decades. As part of “Chaos Makes School,” members reach not only children, but also their parents and teachers. This is only possible because the government has trust in them. Through cooperation with the Ministry of Education, they are part of in-school teacher training courses.

A perennial favorite is digital self-defense, where they focus on phishing, cookies and passwords. Political issues often come up at parents' evenings, for example when it comes to the risks involved in using social media. “If you create a new TikTok account and say you are male, you will only see AfD content or sexualized content.”

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Some members of Port39 also work with the police crime prevention department. “The schools up here have huge problems with racism,” says Flo. "Crime prevention sometimes brings us in for the digital topic. For example, we talk about dog whistles, especially in chats that parents have no idea about." Dog whistles can be numerical codes and emojis that hide right-wing extremist or homophobic messages. Even in chat groups at elementary schools, misanthropy is a big problem.

Hackspaces as third spaces

“Sharing and spreading knowledge is at the core of a hackspace,” says Gerd. “This is a fundamentally democratic value.” Gerd, Mo and Anma are members of thehttps://www.hacklabor.de/">HacklaborSchwerin. Here, in the state capital, the new state parliament will soon be formed.

In the hack lab they organize events for young people, software workshops and once a monthhttps://di.day/de">DigitalIndependence Day. There they show people how they can break away from Big Tech companies.

The community has often debated with each other, says Mo. He sees their hack lab as a third space, a place where people can hang out outside of their jobs and their place of residence. People come together here: “That’s what I like about hackspaces,” he says. “That through a common interest you meet people who come from the same area as you, but who have completely different political views or different values.”

At Hackspace lectures on MV's security and order law, punks sometimes sat in the audience alongside football hooligans. "There are people who feel pain when political symbols are put up and certain things are said. Then a discussion takes place. Ideally, this promotes understanding from one side to the other or vice versa."

Leave your own bubble

Johannes and Basti fromhttps://hack-hro.de/">HackspaceRostockHowever, they worry that it is hardly possible for them as a community to talk to people with right-wing extremist views. “If I want to do something about the shift to the right, I have to address people who would otherwise end up in these structures,” says Johannes. "We have created a feel-good place here in the hackspace. This is preserving democracy." The two point to a trans and a pride flag that are hanging in their hackspace. But, Johannes adds: "Getting people out of there doesn't work that way. They don't come here."

The fake flock camera served as a conversation starter. – All rights reserved: Hackspace Rostock

In the Rostock Hackspace they have always been concerned with politics. But when the headlines turned to...https://netzpolitik.org/tag/chatkontrolle/">Chat control, to amend thehttps://netzpolitik.org/tag/bundespolizeigesetz/">Federal Police Actand deshttps://netzpolitik.org/tag/informationsfreiheitsgesetz/">Informationsfr...It was almost time to stop just observing. Ultimately, the changes to the law would also benefit all future governments. “Especially because there was such a big wave of unpleasant projects coming at us, we wanted to position ourselves clearly,” says Basti.

Equipped with a falsehttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/mit-kaugummis-laserpointern-und-brecheisen/...As an eye-catcher, they recently set up an information stand on the subject of surveillance in Rostock's pedestrian zone. On the first day, they spoke to more than a hundred people, including some they wouldn't count as part of their own bubble. Now they want to be on the street regularly. “We want to make it clear that a lot of surveillance is being built up and freedom is being dismantled.”

Whether clubs remain non-profit can be influenced

Gerd from Hacklabor Schwerin is also concerned about how spaces like hers do not become targeted by anti-democratic forces. “The authoritarian turnaround has been underway for a long time and non-profit organizations are already being attacked. Also through financing, for example through funding opportunities likehttps://www.zeit.de/news/2026-05/15/foerderstopp-bedroht-41-demokratiepr...life!who will be left with nothing next year. And associations like us are committed to non-profit status.”

The Hacklabor, like Port39 from Stralsund and Hackspace Rostock, is registered as a non-profit organization. This comes with some privileges; donors can, for example, deduct some of their donations from their taxes. And for many grants, non-profit status is a prerequisite.

“The decision as to whether we remain a non-profit organization or not is made by the authorities, which can of course be influenced,” says Gerd. "If situations change, the pavement can of course become correspondingly rougher for us. There is already a lot of argument about what the neutrality requirement is for a club. Many people ask themselves: Are you allowed to express yourself politically at all?"

The AfD appealshttps://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/context/gemeinnuetzigkeit-afd-100...several yearson “political neutrality” in order to question unpleasant clubs and organizations. With complaints to the tax office or parliamentary questions, the party is increasing the pressure on organizations that promote democracy or against racism and fascism. However, there ishttps://fragdenstaat.de/artikel/policy/2026/07/neutralitatsgebot/">nostate neutrality requirement, Clubs only have to act neutrally in terms of party politics.

Workshops and lectures on fake news and surveillance are still on the program in Schwerin. “In many cases you cannot draw a line between the technical and the political aspects,” says Anma.

“It hangs over the project like the sword of Damocles”

In addition to the Hacklabor Schwerin, Anma is also a member ofhttps://hackwald.de/">hackwaldGreifswald. The weekly meetings of the small community take place in thehttps://straze.de/">STRAZEinstead of. "This is a cultural and residential project that has already been in the local political firing line of the right-wing and conservative parties. For us, this is definitely a very present threat to our premises."

A member of the Greifswald AfD parliamentary grouphttps://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/lokales/vorpommern-greifswald/greifswald/g...the STRAZE and other cultural institutions as “agitation centers and political fighting institutions of the left-wing scene” and rejected that they should continue to receive funding. The other parties countered: The program reflected a political spectrum, but above all it was full of events such as “jazz concerts, board game evenings, children’s book readings, costume shows, readings and art exhibitions”.

The STRAZE sponsor continues to receive its annual funding. “But it hangs over the project and the building like a sword of Damocles,” says Anma.

She has been an election worker herself for a long time and has observed how the AfD is gaining support. "I find it very frightening to see how this is spreading across the neighborhoods and slowly spreading across the entire city. I think it is necessary that we position ourselves as clubs and take a clear stance. There is nothing more important than supporting the people who remain stable."

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web address: https://netzpolitik.org/2026/hackspaces-vor-der-landtagswahl-was-technolog-ist-ist-immer-politisch/Author/Group: Rika BaackTopics: Netactivismfeed-date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 - 1:35 p.m