To get important information into the right hands.

To mourn the death of a public hero; to link a natural disaster or public tragedy to a political message; to protest the launch of a war.

To boldly articulate a demand; to rebrand a target; to provide a message frame or larger-than-life caption for an action.

To physically shut down something bad (a coal mine, the World Trade Organization), to protect something good (a forest, someone’s home), or to make a symbolic statement, such as encircling a target (the White House).

To expose and disrupt the public relations efforts of the armed and dangerous. Particularly useful at speeches, hearings, meetings, fundraisers and the like.

To translate online outcry into offline action; to make mass public opposition unavoidably visible to a campaign target.

To fight back against financial exploitation when many people are crushed by debt.

Altering the meaning of a target’s messaging or brand; packaging critical messages as highly contagious media viruses.

To shut things down; to open things up; to pressure a target; to re-imagine what’s possible; to intervene in a system; to empower people; to defend something good; to shine a spotlight on something bad.

To demonstrate the breadth, diversity and power of a movement; to swarm a large target in diverse locations.