Group chat blues? Root & Branch offers an antidote

The left is more fragmented than it has been in years, spread across different parties and none, siloed into non-productive, impersonal and often antagonistic WhatsApp groups. People who worked side by side a few years ago have scattered, but the relationships and the common causes are still there.

Root & Branch is a pluralist, peer-to-peer forum where the left can come together and stay networked whatever party, union or organisation we happen to be in, or not. The founding idea is that information about who’s who, who does what and who can be trusted should be provided by, and available to, all of us.

In the past, that kind of knowledge has tended to be hidden away in a database held by an organisation for it to use as it saw fit. We wanted something shared and verified by activists, something that doesn’t become irrelevant as the political ground shifts, where the work we do now to make connections stays forever, available to us all.

On Root & Branch we can identify and recognise everyone’s strengths and experience. We can find the comrades who are good at writing motions, or chairing meetings, organising or making video and those with experience in elected office.  We can identify prospective candidates, see who vouches for them and give them the support and advice they need to get selected and elected. We can share the practical things – events, resources, car pools, coaches, accommodation shares – and organise together on the causes that cut across all our parties, like Palestine solidarity, anti-racism and support for strike action.

We need to get our organising and discussion off WhatsApp. The endless group chats are a drain on our time and our mental health. Engagement is low because most people simply cannot keep up with an ever-rolling linear chat and antagonism is almost guaranteed – a product of relative anonymity and the back-and-forth of instant messaging. Anyone working full time, or with caring responsibilities, is left behind, disconnected and isolated. Real relationships are not built in those spaces.

There is an easier and more pleasant way to network and stay plugged in and to engage when it suits you, with just what interests you. Root & Branch offers threaded conversations, bookmarks and reminders to make it easy to engage when you have time, rather than the anxiety of missing the relevant discussions or something important in the constantly pinging group chat. The discussion spaces include national and local, space for your party if you’re in one and for unions and other organisations. Set up a private area for your committee or group if you’d like, however large or small.

Hilary Schan from the We Deserve Better campaign said: “We Deserve Better is about bringing the left together and finding positive ways to channel the energy, ideas and resources that exist across our movement. That’s why we’re supporting Root & Branch. There are so many people doing great work who are separated by party and organisational boundaries, and Root & Branch gives us a way to reconnect, share what we have to offer and work together on the things we care about.”

The Left media feed on Root & Branch brings the podcasts and articles under one roof with tags on subjects that you can follow or mute to curate your own notifications and feed on the subjects that matter to you. There’s also a calendar of events relevant to you, petitions and crowdfunders in one place and a directory of activists nationally and locally.

Of course, all of this needs to be safe, so Root & Branch is built on trust. It works by users building recognition and verification between comrades – no one can see your full name or profile until that trust has been established and a person’s identification verified. No more leaky chat or spam.

Academic, activist and podcaster Jeremy Gilbert said: “Root and Branch is a fantastic and wholly necessary initiative to help people across the left communicate and cohere, using what is still one of the most genuinely democratic technologies of digital communication: the online forum.”

We know that it takes real commitment to open your mind to a new forum when everyone's default is the dreaded group chat. So, we have tried to make sure there is something for everyone and that it is genuinely easy to use and accessible – including through its own mobile app. Whether you drop in only to read the media feed and get your podcasts and articles in one place, or to talk national and international politics with comrades, find local and national events in one place, or to focus entirely on your local party or little committee, it can all live in the same place.

Root & Branch was started by activists Gemma Thornton and her partner and is supported by We Deserve Better, with co-founders Hilary Schan, Mish Rahman and Andrew Hedges and founding contributors including Jamie Driscoll, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn. Watch the intro video and find out more on the sign-up page at rootandbranchorganising.org