Scrapism: A Manifesto

Abstract

Abstract Web scraping is a technique for automatically downloading and processing web content or converting online text and other media into structured data. This article describes the role that web scraping plays for web businesses and machine learning systems and the fundamental tension between the openness of the web and the interests of private corporations. It then goes on to sketch an outline for “scrapism,” the practice of using web scraping for artistic, critical, and political ends.