In Madrid, thousands of holograms protest against ‘gag’ laws

Holograms for Freedom saw thousands of Spanish citizens take part in the world's first hologram march in protest of Spain's new 'gag' laws.

Spain’s controversial Citizen Safety Law has been highly criticized for threatening the freedoms the Spanish people by criminalizing their right to demonstrate in front of public buildings. In response, earlier this month, protesters carried out a virtual march on the steps of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid: Holograms for Freedom saw thousands of ghostly figures projected in front of the government building in the first ever hologram protest.

The so-called ‘gag’ laws introduced by Spain’s governing Popular Party are set to be instated in July and will bring with them hefty fines of up to EUR 600,000 for unauthorized public protesting and possible prison sentences for spreading messages of a demonstration. The protest was organized by NoSomosDelito — We Are Not Crime — who encouraged sympathizers from around the world to send in videos of themselves via webcam which were then projected as holograms during the one hour long protest. More than 2000 people took part in the demonstration from afar, which aimed to display the irony of real people having less freedoms than their holographic versions.

How else could holograms be used creatively to solve problems…or, in this case, draw attention to them?