State Department, Middle-Eastern governments ramp up social media efforts in wake of Egypt protests
UPDATE Feb 10, 5 p.m.: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said he will not resign.
UPDATE Feb. 10, 1:30 p.m.: Media reports state that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will announce his resignation later today.
UPDATE Feb. 11, 12:40 p.m.: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has resigned and turned power over to the military, which issued a statement promising constitutional reform and free elections.
Social media continues to play a role of variable effectiveness in fomenting popular dissent in Egypt and across the Middle East.
According to the New York Times much of the planning for the protests in Egypt against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak--now in their 17th day--took place online.
Walid Rachid, the 27-year-old administrator of an online group called the April 6 Movement, received a note from an "anonymous administrator of an anti-torture Facebook page asking for 'marketing help' with a day of protest on Jan. 25." It has since been revealed that the activist was Wael Ghonim, Google's 30-year-old marketing manager for the Middle East and North Africa, who has also since become a public driving force in the protests.
According to CNN, Ghonim, who took leave from his Google position in order to participate in the Cairo protests, has identified himself has the administrator of the Facebook page "ElShaheeed," which reportedly means "the martyr" in Arabic.
Ghonim made the announcement following his release after being detained 12 days by Egyptian authorities.
Meanwhile, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir hopes to quash recent protests against his rule, which have largely been organized through text messaging and social networks by launching an effort to expand electricity to rural areas "so that the younger citizens can use computers and Internet to combat opposition through social networking sites such as Facebook," according to the Sudan Tribune. Given that only about 10 percent of Sudan's population is connected to the Internet, al-Bashir's fight-fire-with-fire approach may be futile.
In Syria, the government reversed a four-year ban Facebook and YouTube Feb. 9, according to Agence France-Presse. Syrians had previously circumvented the ban using proxy servers to punch through the Syrian firewall. However, in a sign that social media by itself may not be sufficient to mobilize protest, Syrian activists' call last week for a mass demonstration in Damascus went unheeded.
Following the move, which occurred without a formal statement or announcement from the Syrian government, Alec Ross (@alecjross), an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said on Twitter: "Welcome positive move on Facebook & YouTube in #Syria but concerned that freedom puts users at risk absent freedom of expression&association."
The department launched Feb. 9 a new Twitter account, @USAbilAraby, in Arabic. The account name means "USA in Arabic" and will be State's "Arabic Media Hub," says the feed's description.
One of the first tweets from the feed reads: "The US foreign ministry has recognized the historic role of social media in the Arab world and we want to be part of your conversations."
Related Articles:
Egyptian Internet restored
Egyptian Internet remains mostly blocked
Lessons on connectivity and social media from Egypt
The true cost of Egypt's Internet shutdown
Comments