Tactical media is a concept proposed in the late 1990s that refers to art and media practices that use widely available technologies such as video cameras and the internet to intervene flexibly and oppose structures of power. It became especially visible from the late 1990s into the 2000s, in the context of gatherings such as the Next 5 Minutes conference in the Netherlands, where grassroots political interventions and satirical actions using electronic media were discussed and practiced. Examples associated with this tendency include Critical Art Ensemble’s experiential projects criticizing bioterrorism and surveillance technologies, The Yes Men’s social satire performed by impersonating major corporations, and Wu Ming’s movement combining narrative creation with internet activity.
A defining feature of tactical media is that it works through small-scale tactics rather than large institutional change. By altering the combination of media technologies, it creates disruptions within existing systems and opens space for new cultural experiments. It is not limited to the field of art; it also intersects with social movements and journalism, and can be understood as strategic intervention in the media environment. Hackers and activists have been central to its practice, and the practical knowledge they accumulated on the ground was highly valued. Pirate radio and free radio lineages also form an important reference point, since illegal broadcasting condensed challenge and ingenuity into a form of experimentation within the media ecosystem.