Own the Narrative: The Power of Storytelling Against Epistemicide

In a world where algorithms dictate whose voices are heard and whose truths are silenced, storytelling becomes an act of revolution. It is an act of

In a world where algorithms dictate whose voices are heard and whose truths are silenced, storytelling becomes an act of revolution. It is an act of defiance. It is resistance in its most beautiful, most human form.

But before we dive deeper, let’s first understand what we’re up against. It’s called epistemicide.

What is Epistemicide?

Epistemicide is the systematic destruction or suppression of knowledge systems. It is the erasure of cultures, languages, philosophies, and stories that don’t align with the dominant narrative. It’s why so many of our histories are told through someone else’s eyes. It’s why the wisdom of our grandmothers, the songs of our ancestors, and the struggles of our people are relegated to footnotes, if mentioned at all.

Epistemicide is why entire communities are reduced to stereotypes, why powerful movements are dismissed as riots, and why we are told to forget the past and move on. It thrives on silence, on stolen narratives, on histories rewritten by the victors.

It’s the reason why, even today, social media platforms prioritize Western-centric content, censoring or shadow-banning activist voices from marginalized communities, especially in the Global South. This is called Algorithmic Bias. The algorithms are designed to amplify the familiar and suppress the uncomfortable truths. In this digital age, epistemicide is more sophisticated but no less brutal.

The Power of Storytelling: Our Oldest Weapon Against Erasure

Long before social media, before television, before radio, before even the written word—our people were telling stories. Oral traditions were our libraries. Songs were our history books. Poetry was our philosophy.

Storytelling was how we survived.

When they tried to erase us, we remembered through folktales. When they tried to enslave us, we encoded our freedom in songs. When they tried to silence us, we passed our stories in whispers. Storytelling is how we have always resisted.

And it is how we resist epistemicide today.

Why Storytelling is More Powerful Than Protests Alone

Protests are necessary. They shake the ground. They force the world to pay attention. But they are fleeting. A protest lasts for a day, a weekend, maybe even a month. But stories? Stories last for generations.

When you protest, you demand to be heard. When you tell your story, you command the narrative.
When you protest, they can call you angry, violent, irrational. When you tell your story, they see your humanity.
When you protest, they see the moment. When you tell your story, they see the movement.

Stories go beyond headlines. They humanize the struggle. They create empathy. They plant seeds that grow into revolutions long after the chants have died down.

And that is why storytelling and protest must go hand in hand. Protests demand justice. Stories make the world understand why justice is necessary.

Algorithmic Bias and the War on Our Narratives

But let’s be real. Social media is not neutral. Algorithms are programmed to favor the status quo. They reward content that conforms and punish content that challenges. They amplify voices that entertain but silence voices that resist.

Algorithmic Bias is a tool of modern-day epistemicide. It’s why activism from the Global South gets buried. It’s why Indigenous land defenders are shadow-banned. It’s why Black and Brown voices are censored for “hate speech” when they dare to speak against oppression.

They are trying to control the narrative. They are trying to erase us all over again.

But this is where storytelling becomes revolutionary. This is where we fight back. This is where we own the narrative.

Own the Narrative: Tell Your Story On Your Terms

Don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait for representation.
Tell your story. Tell it loudly. Tell it in your language, in your voice, in your rhythm. Tell it on your terms.

Tell it in every form of media available.

Write. Pen poems, essays, articles, blogs.
Speak. Record podcasts, videos, voice notes.
Sing. Pour your soul into music, hymns, rap, chants.
Create. Use art, dance, theater, fashion, photography.
Code. Build websites, apps, platforms that amplify your voice.

Tell it in every space you occupy. On social media. In classrooms. In workplaces. Around dinner tables. At rallies. In churches, mosques, temples. On stages and in back alleys.

Don’t wait for mainstream media. Create your own platforms. Collaborate with community radio stations. Partner with independent publishers. Use social media strategically—not just to be seen, but to be heard.

Don’t let them reduce you to a stereotype. LIVE your complexity, your contradictions, your humanity.

Tell stories that inspire and empower. Avoid falling into the trap of using media for degeneracy. Degeneracy soils. It dehumanizes. It reinforces the very stereotypes used to oppress us. It feeds into epistemicide by distorting our narratives and destroying our legacies.

Tell stories that liberate. Tell stories that educate, that resist, that heal, that connect. Tell stories that uplift generations to come.

This is How We Fight Epistemicide

Epistemicide is designed to erase us. To rewrite our histories. To control our futures.
But when we tell our stories, we break the silence.
We shatter the myths. We resist the stereotypes. We preserve our truths. We inspire the next generation of storytellers.

We refuse to be erased.

They want to control the narrative.
But the narrative belongs to us. It always has. It always will.

Own the narrative. Tell your story.
And change the world.