The arab spring, which started in december 2010, heralded the dawn of a new political landscape, but it was powered by young activists who used the internet and social media. How isis recruits through social media fordham political. Many governments restrict access to digital media in some way, either to prevent obscenity or in a broader form of political censorship. How smartphones and social media drive political revolution.
Social media and social mobilisation in the middle east. We have seen the power of social media and its effect on society. The anonymity software tor was a tool used by some bloggers, journalists and online activists to protect their identity and to practice free speech. The role of social media in the arab spring, a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests in the middle east and north africa between 2010 and 2012, remains a highly debated subject.
Philip howard of the university of washington in seattle, who has published an analysis that found a strong link between social media and the arab spring isnt so sure. The syrian uprising has opened a new chapter in the history of cyberespionage, and activists and experts are. Dec 15, 2019 social media users face attacks from influencers and fake accounts at home and abroad. At times during 2011, the term arab spring became interchangeable with twitter uprising or facebook revolution, as global media tried to make sense of what was going on. The arab uprisings six years ago triggered a huge upsurge of hope. Social media has certainly played a part in the arab spring revolutions but its impact is often exaggerated on the inside. May 25, 2012 restrictive socialmedia policies put in place by many of these outlets seem designed to remove as many of the elements of being human as possible from the practice of being a journalist which i think is the exact opposite of what needs to happen if traditional journalism is to survive.
This report investigates the impact of social media upon social unrest during the arab spring and is designed to test the common hypothesis that facebook, twitter and other social media outlets had a significant impact on the outbreak of protests in the mena region. But many of the underlying causes of the arab spring remain, such as. The arab spring is one such example where social media such as facebook has been crucial in mobilizing outrage against an oppressive regime. Social media and the arab spring small wars journal. Memri bridges the language gap which exists between the west and the middle east, providing timely translations of arabic, persian, urdupashtu, and turkish media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the middle east. But the past five years have shown that liberty isnt the only. It will further examine the impact social media had on the uprisings and revolutions known as the arab spring. Social media in both countries latched on to sisi and burhans identical first names to humorously warn of a similar fate. The argument we are making here is that political change such as the initial protests associated with the arab spring leads to changes in the use of the social media e. Everything on the internet could be subject to data mining practices and social networks. While the uprising in tunisia led to some improvements in the country from a humanrights perspective, not all of the nations that witnessed such social and political. A spike in online revolutionary conversations often preceded major events on the ground.
Oct 01, 2017 zeynep tufekci, a north carolina university sociologist who studies social networks and activist movements, said the platforms which helped enable the arab spring are now being used against. Oct 08, 2018 the arab spring brought that indifference to a rapid end as governments all over the world woke up to the disruptive potential of social to allow their citizens to overcome information asymmetry. Additionally, a number of social listening tools have continued to gain popularity among digital marketers looking. Nearly a decade since the arab spring uprisings, social media use in. It concerns the us government role in instigating, funding and coordinating the arab spring. This report investigates the impact of social media upon social unrest during the arab spring and is designed to test the common hypothesis that facebook, twitter and other social media outlets. The phone that helped andy carvin report the arab spring. Andy carvin on twitter as a newsroom and being human gigaom. Bots are automated software that can execute repeated tasks in bulk, for good or ill, and can be used to. A lot has changed since i published my 2015 edition of this post on the lse impact of social science blog, with even more software applications with the function of retrieving and analyzing social media data having been released. What is the role of social media on fundamental change in arab countries in the middle east and north africa. Uprisings occurred in states regardless of their levels of internet usage, with some states with high levels of internet usage such as bahrain, with 88% of its population online in 2011 experiencing.
From the arab spring to the global occupy movement, citizens of all nations are more empowered than ever before. How bae sold cybersurveillance tools to arab states bbc. And i think andy carvin is a pretty good example of. Technologys role in the arab spring protests youtube. The role played by the arab mass media in the arab spring.
The book asks why the penetration rate for social media differs in different countries. The role of social media and usergenerated content in. The level of internet censorship in the arab spring was escalated. Is social media empowering or silencing our voices. Launched by the image of the selfimmolation of the tunisian vegetable vendor mohamed bouazizi as an outcry against the humiliation of citizens at the hands of authoritarian states and their security apparatuses, the arab spring. Social media and revolution in the arab world youtube.
Middle east social media usage trends revealed arabian gazette. These networking sites have become an important tool for democracy. The role of social media in the arab uprisings pew. Aljazeera and alarabia were the important television. Executions in idlib governorate execution of fighters in first defense line, march 11, 2012 mass executions at the bilal mosque, march 11, 2012 executions of four residents in ayn larouz village, midmarch 2012 execution of two. In particular, social media are increasingly used in political context. A cache of emails obtained by the guardian uk newspaper shows correspondence between syrian president bashar al assad and his wife asma and their inner circle of. Which statement best evaluates the evidence in this excerpt.
Apr 07, 2015 political movements are using social media to coordinate their efforts, which is why so many authoritarian governments limit access to it. The role played by the arab mass media in the arab spring is recognized by a lot of analysts. Social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the arab spring. The arab spring brought that indifference to a rapid end as governments all over the world woke up to the disruptive potential of social to allow their citizens to overcome information asymmetry. The authors use the term new media instead and not social media in the report. May 11, 2012 we have seen the power of social media and its effect on society. Jan 31, 20 the data mining of social media is an activity often conducted by intelligence circles and militias.
Media coverage of the arab spring and its aftermath, as a whole, has been very poor. Some maintain that the role of facebook in coordinating and fueling the arab spring uprisings has been vastly. Read the excerpt from social media made the arab spring, but couldnt save it by jessi hempel. Political movements are using social media to coordinate their efforts, which is why so many authoritarian governments limit access to it. Apr 30, 2019 social media remains key to venezuelas opposition, despite efforts to block it opponents of nicolas maduro face off against troops loyal to the government on tuesday. Established in 1975, the saudibased arab news is the middle easts newspaper of record and the biggest english language daily in the kingdom. Digital media and society reports world economic forum. Media caption how bae sold cybersurveillance tools to arab states.
Social media and the arab spring al jazeera america. Egypt, libya, jordan, yemen, and tunisia, along with additional examples. Lack of internet freedom was a tactic employed by authorities to quell protests. Through social networking sites, arab spring activists have not only gained the power to overthrow powerful dictatorship, but also helped arab civilians become aware of the underground. Yet authoritarian regimes have come to value digital media, too. An update on the project in 2016how it felt to live in the arab world five years after the arab spring. Read the excerpt from social media made the arab spring. The digital lynch mobs call to ban alex chang from all mcdonalds in singapore report as abusive. However, they can also be used as a tool to spread extremism. The goal of this article is to place the role that social media plays in collective action within a more general theoretical structure, using the events of the arab spring as a case study. The digital lynch mobs call to ban alex chang from all mcdonalds in singapore report. Perhaps the best evidence that digital media were an important causal factor in the arab spring is that dictators treated them as such.
S state department surprisingly criticized the pro west tunisian government by saying that it was concerned about the fact. Not long ago i sat in on a briefing of foreign military officers. This paper will discuss the causes of the arab spring and how social media played a role in the middle east before the start of the revolutions in 2011. Nov 01, 2016 in addition to condemning gulf leaders for cracking down on social media activism since the arab spring uprisings of 2011, the human rights group draws attention to their use of often highly. Al jazeera englishs new program the stream attempts to demonstrate the critical role of social media in the recent revolutions unfolding across the arab world. The bbc tracked down a former tunisian intelligence official. Rulers and governments across the arab world utilized the law, technology, and violence to control what was being posted on and disseminated through the internet. Many free services can help military analysts to see trends in different countries for specific events and news, like protests and social movements. Oct 14, 2016 in ethiopias war against social media, the truth is the main casualty. Digital media is seen by many scholars as having a role in arab spring, and crackdowns on the use of digital and social media by embattled governments are increasingly common. During the arab spring of 20112012, digital media served as a vehicle to mobilize resources, organize protests and draw global attention to the events. A 2012 report from the pew research centers global attitudes project, social networking popular across globe.
Oct 27, 2016 twitter is still popular in the kingdomthe service has added 200,000 active users there since 2014, according to the arab social media report but it no longer hosts much dissent. Pdf role of social media in the arab spring and beyond. Despite a clear code of ethics, al jazeera has patently abandoned the. It started as a hobby, but soon became my calling some might say my. When the average american thinks about brazil one of two images comes to mind, carnival or soccer. Moreover, activists are increasingly targeting companies and even nonprofits. This article was first crossposted on gr in october 2015. Treating the internet as the enemy in the middle east. Saudi arabia extended repressive press laws to online media amid the uprisings in tunisia and egypt in january 2011, and in 2014 the government criminalized reporting on protests by way of social media under a new antiterrorism law. The best tools for using twitter as a data source methodspace. Jacob appelbaum, tor developer, independent computer security researcher, and cofounder of the the san francisco hackerspace noisebrige has conducted a number of tor trainings in the middle east. This study presents a survey of studies published in scholarly. Explaining the role and impact of social media in the.
How bae sold cybersurveillance tools to arab states bbc news. The same tool that united us to topple dictators eventually tore us apart. Explaining the role and impact of social media in the arab spring. Since january 2011, the eyes of the world have turned to the arab spring. Social media made the arab spring, but couldnt save it. Jun 15, 2017 media caption how bae sold cybersurveillance tools to arab states. Beyond the pc personal technology at work its arab spring.
Nprs social media strategist, carvin used twitter during the arab spring to communicate with protesters in the middle east and verify eyewitness accounts from the front lines, most of the time. In egypt and tunisia, two nations at the heart of the arab spring, more than 6 in 10 social. One early customer of the new system was the tunisian government. Social media is no longer the domain of the liberal youth, empowering different agendas across the political map.
Social media and its influence on the arab spring december 17, 2015 according to online activist nasser weddady, social media in the arab uprising became the peoples news agency. Arab publics most likely to express political views online, looks at the distinct online dynamics of nations in the region. The role of the media, and especially the social media, in the arab spring has been extensively debated in academia. The bbc tracked down a former tunisian intelligence. The months during which the arab spring took place had the most national blackouts, network shutdowns, and tool blockages to date. Feb 16, 2011 the arab spring is one such example where social media such as facebook has been crucial in mobilizing outrage against an oppressive regime. Taking power through technology in the arab spring iran. After the three major waves of democratisation, there was optimism that democracy would now finally prevail in the middle east as well. People are demanding to use their own gadgets in their jobs. From the arab spring to the protests in baltimore, social movements have become a pervasive feature of contemporary society. Drawing on evidence from the 2011 egyptian uprising, this article demonstrates how the use of two social media platforms facebook and twitter contributed to a discrete mobilizational outcome. The arab spring revealed social media s greatest potential, but it also exposed its greatest shortcomings. There is much literature and examples on how icts can be used by peace practitioners. Jan 31, 20 since the arab spring began, ive used social media to report remotely on uprisings in more than half a dozen countries.
Arab spring comes later in sudan and algeria reuters. Social media use in the military sector infosec resources. Jun 16, 2017 social media is often credited with helping spread the arab spring, as activists shared messages of discontent and organized protests using facebook and twitter. Digital adoption has grown and become more mainstream, so arab youth are more connected than ever. Through social networking sites, arab spring activists have not only gained the power to overthrow powerful dictatorship, but also helped arab civilians become aware of the underground communities. Democracys fourth wave digital media and the arab spring. Aug 25, 2012 in recent years, social media are said to have an impact on the public discourse and communication in the society. The impact of social media on social unrest in the arab. Optify then reports on the roi of social media marketing by linking keywords, tweets, etc.
Egypt was disconnected from the outside world for days and yet the. Social media surveillance may not just be urban legend. Latest report on the state of social media in the middle east and north africa mena by damian radcliffe and amanda lam provides an update on how social media is being used in the middle east, highlighting the rise of messaging apps and visual social networks like instagram and snapchat. The biggest blunder was the hope that the army would be an ally. The arab spring carried the promise that social media and the internet were going to unleash a new wave of positive social change. Online arab spring responds to this question, considering five countries. Cheddar original reporting on social media, fintech, entertainment, cannabis, and more from the leading postcable network. Taking power through technology in the arab spring.
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