What is Woke 2.0 and how is it linked to pro-Palestine views?

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said in an interview with ABC, “woke 1.0 was crazy,” but what exactly is woke 1.0, what makes woke 2.0 so different, and what role does Palestinian justice play in the newer form of woke?

According to Google Trends data, the term "Woke 1" began gaining popularity in January 2026. It describes social justice activism of the late 2010s and early 2020s. The term usually focuses on anti-racism advocacy, support for transgender people, and the overzealous use of cancel culture -- the concept of trying to 'cancel' people for perceived infractions of social justice norms by encouraging social media users to unfollow them and, at times, attempting to get people fired from their jobs or expelled from their places of education.

Another key feature of Woke 1 is the surrounding corporate culture. Following the murder of African American man George Floyd by white police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement, which was founded in 2013, became mainstream. This included major brands like cosmetics giant L'Oreal and even McDonald's.

The past is a different country https://t.co/D0Jzjzg7Xj

— Sami Gold (@souljagoyteller) June 2, 2025

Despite her recent criticism of the movement, AOC was a key figure in Woke 1. Her decision to wear a dress saying 'Tax the rich' to the 2021 Met Gala, which cost $35,000 a ticket, was highlighted at the time as an example of how members of an elite group of politicians and celebrities criticised the same systems they participated in.

How is Woke 2 different?

Woke 2 was coined to differentiate a newer form of online social justice, with similar progressive goals but newer tactics. It is associated with the second Trump presidency and rising global proto fascism. Some critics of Woke 1 blame the movement's perceived extreme tactics for the backlash against progressive movements and Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election.

The term, along with the similar 'dark woke ', is often tongue-in-cheek, but reflects a real change in progressive political strategy. A key political figure in Woke 2 is New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani's election campaign focused on the cost of living for New Yorkers of all backgrounds, rather than spotlighting specific identities.

Another key difference between the two eras of woke is the recent attention to Palestinian justice. While Woke 1 highlighted a number of injustices, including racism, homophobia, and ableism, the treatment of Palestinians was rarely on the agenda. However, since October 2023, Israel's increasingly severe tactics against Palestinians, including the genocide in Gaza, settlement expansion in the West Bank, and the adoption of the death penalty for Palestinians, have made the issue a key feature of progressive politics.

However, another key feature of Woke 2 is the adoption of language from alt-right internet culture. The term 'slop,' often used to describe low-quality AI content, comes from an antisemitic conspiracy theory, while the suffix '-maxxing,' as in 'joymaxxing' and other derivatives, comes from 'looksmaxxing,' a term used by the misogynistic incel community. While these terms are both common internet slang, they are particularly popular in progressive spaces.

While Woke 2 is distinct from Woke 1, it is a continuation of internet-focused progressivism, which prioritises online advocacy -- typically on platforms owned by tech giants, like Elon Musk's X and Mark Zuckerberg's Instagram -- over in-person, community-based politics.