Social Media and Arab Spring

1.       The Arab Spring has been called the Bloggers Revolution.  What role did social media play in this revolution?

Social media played a huge role in the Arab Spring Bloggers Revolution because it was the vehicle that the people who were passionate about the revolution used to spread awareness and communicate with one another.  “People who shared interest in democracy built extensive social networks and organized political action. Social media became a critical part of the toolkit for greater freedom” (O’Donnell, 2011). In a revolution of that nature, what people see on televised media is often biased and controlled. The message that the people watching receive is that which the news broadcasters, corporations, or government give them. Often there is hidden agenda in such reports. By contrast, the social networks that were organized through the Arab Spring were created by the people, making it a possible primary source for the current events. “Our evidence suggests that social media carried a cascade of messages about freedom and democracy across North Africa and the Middle East, and helped raise expectations for the success of political uprising” (O’Donnell, 2011). Discussions about political and social uprising were happening throughout the region, and the evidence shows that the blogs, tweets, videos, organized Facebook pages increasingly revolved around revolution in the weeks preceding action.

Sources:

O'Donnell, C. (2011, September 12). New study quantifies use of social media in Arab Spring. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.washington.edu/news/2011/09/12/new-study-quantifies-use-of-social-media-in-arab-spring/

Wihbey, J. (2013, September 25). The Arab Spring and the Internet: Research roundup - Journalist's Resource. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/global-tech/research-arab-spring-internet-key-studies