Revolution.Social Rudy Fraser on Blacksky, Mutual Aid & Reclaiming Social Media
Sep 25, 2025
In this discussion, Rudy Fraser, founder of Blacksky and a dedicated organizer, shares his vision for a community-driven social media platform. He emphasizes the importance of mutual aid and community accountability in shaping algorithms and moderation. Rudy highlights lessons learned from the George Floyd uprisings and the need for democratic tools in financial systems. He also envisions an internet of autonomous communities that prioritize usability and collective governance, empowering users to shape their own social spaces.
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From PaperTree To Platform
- Rudy describes moving from community finance work (PaperTree) into building social tools after mutual aid organizing in 2020.
- He learned practical tech and organizing lessons that shaped Black Sky's mission to serve community needs.
Community As Mutual Accountability
- Rudy frames community as mutual accountability and an organism with agency, not a demographic label.
- That view motivated designing tech to mirror community dynamics rather than market capture.
Radicalization By Mutual Aid
- Rudy recounts seeing mutual aid fridges and grassroots fundraising during the George Floyd uprisings.
- Those experiences convinced him mutual aid could be scaled with better tools and coordination.
