No Kings, No Tyrants & No Dictators

The No Kings interactive map is not particularly interesting in itself - except as a visualization of the huge geographic sweep of anti-Trump sentiment in the United States. The map is ostensibly just a simple interactive map that shows you the locations of today's protests against the escalating authoritarianism of the Donald Trump administration in the United States.

As well as showing the locations of today's protests the map does also visualize the broad geographic scope of the protests - with over 2,500 events taking place across the whole of America, from small towns to large cities. 

What I actually find most interesting about the map, however, is that it is also a serendipitous visualization of European monarchies. In Europe, several protest markers have been renamed from “No Kings” to “No Tyrants” or “No Dictators,” reflecting sensitivities in countries that still retain monarchies. The No Kings map thus inadvertently doubles as a subtle visualization of Europe’s remaining monarchies - revealing a political geography beyond its original purpose of simply plotting the locations of today's anti-authoritarian protests.