There Is No Cabal

There Is No Cabal is a catchphrase and running joke found on Usenet. The journalist Wendy M. Grossman writes that its appearance on the alt.usenet.cabal FAQ reflects conspiracy accusations as old as the Internet itself. The anthropologist Gabriella Coleman writes that the joke reveals "discomfort over the potential for corruption by meritocratic leaders".

History

The phrase There Is No Cabal was developed to deny the existence of the backbone cabal, which members of the cabal denied. The cabal consisted of operators of major news server newsgroups, allowing them to wield greater control over Usenet. This acronym spawned the later There Is No [Lumber Cartel] and There Is No We in the news.admin.net-abuse.* newsgroups, especially news.admin.net-abuse.email.