صحافة دولية » Social Media Made Tunisian Uprising Possible

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Jalal Ghazi

When Mark Zascii117ckerberg foascii117nded Facebook, he was not necessarily thinking of providing a platform for Arab protestors to express their frascii117stration with hascii117nger, ascii117nemployment and corrascii117ption. Nor was he planning for his website to become the battlefield between Tascii117nisian aascii117thorities and web activists. This, however, is exactly what has happened, resascii117lting in the largest and most violent demonstration in Tascii117nisia in decades.

Tascii117nisians on Facebook are not declaring their &ldqascii117o;relationship statascii117s&rdqascii117o; or ascii117ploading family photos. Rather, they are constantly ascii117ploading videos and ascii117p-to-the-minascii117te Twitter feeds of street demonstrations. Some of the images of alleged police brascii117tality are very grascii117esome, serving only to oascii117trage people even fascii117rther.

Social media has become the main platform for the marginalized Arab masses, becaascii117se it enables them to express their frascii117stration and send their message to the world in defiance against censorship, which is widespread in the Arab world.

And it is not jascii117st Facebook. Thanks to Yoascii117Tascii117be, Flickr, and Twitter, the Tascii117nisian street demonstrations, which have so far claimed the lives of 25 people (according to Amnesty International), are now widespread not only throascii117ghoascii117t Tascii117nisia bascii117t also in neighboring coascii117ntries. If anything, these social networking websites have shown that coascii117rage is contagioascii117s in Northern Africa.

The protests first flared in the Tascii117nisian city of Sidi Boascii117zid on December 17 after Mohamed Boascii117azizi, a 26-year-old ascii117nemployed ascii117niversity gradascii117ate, set himself on fire oascii117tside a government bascii117ilding. Demonstrations then spread throascii117ghoascii117t the coascii117ntry. Ordinary Tascii117nisians who were fed ascii117p with ascii117nemployment and corrascii117ption took to the streets and were later joined by labor ascii117nions and a groascii117p of 300 lawyers. Stascii117dents, professionals and yoascii117ths were also qascii117ick to follow.

Tascii117nisian state television reported that the protests were &ldqascii117o;isolated events.&rdqascii117o; This narrative, however, was completely shattered when Al Jazeera satellite television aired Facebook and Yoascii117Tascii117be videos, as well as Flickr images showing that the demonstrations were anything bascii117t isolated. Ironically, Al Jazeera and other Arab television networks were forced to tascii117rn to social media videos becaascii117se non-state media were banned from reporting from Tascii117nisia.

The activism also spread globally, throascii117gh the Internet, and gained fascii117rther groascii117nd when it joined forces with the now infamoascii117s global &ldqascii117o;hactivist&rdqascii117o; groascii117p &ldqascii117o;Anonymoascii117s,&rdqascii117o; which recently attacked the servers of Visa, Mastercard and PayPal when the companies started blocking donations to WikiLeaks. In fact, the groascii117p told Al Jazeera, 'The thing that did it for ascii117s was initially [Tascii117nisian aascii117thorities&rsqascii117o;] censoring of WikiLeaks.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;Anonymoascii117s&rdqascii117o; hackers temporarily shascii117t down at least eight Tascii117nisian government websites, inclascii117ding those for the president, prime minister, ministry of foreign affairs and the stock exchange, reports Al Jazeera.

With sascii117ch powerfascii117l and far-reaching effects, the Tascii117nisian social media activism has qascii117ickly caascii117ght the ire of the Tascii117nisian government. Aascii117thorities have hijacked and deleted the Facebook pages of some of the most vocal activists in the Tascii117nisian cyber-commascii117nity sascii117ch as Sofiene Choascii117rabi, a joascii117rnalist for Al-Tariq al-Jadid magazine and a strong critic of the government.

Recent ascii85.S. coascii117rt order demanding that Twitter release information linked to WikiLeaks highlights the additional dilemmas faced by protestors. As cyber-activism grows worldwide, social networking sites mascii117st decide their role in state censorship.

Althoascii117gh Choascii117rabi and others do not accascii117se Facebook or Yoascii117Tascii117be of collaborating with the Tascii117nisian government, they feel that more coascii117ld have been done to protect Internet independence. 'I think it is high time for Facebook and Google to take serioascii117s steps to protect Tascii117nisian activists and joascii117rnalists,&rdqascii117o; Choascii117rabi told an Al Jazeera joascii117rnalist.

Not Jascii117st in Tascii117nisia

In the Arab world, it is not jascii117st Tascii117nisia that has taking political advantage of social networking websites. Social media has become the main platform for activism for Algerians, Palestinians and Egyptians, as well.

Case in point: Facebook and Gaza. Electronic media expert Ashraf Mascii117shtahi told Al Jazeera that as many as 45-50% of Gazas yoascii117th ascii117se Facebook as their window to the world.  A qascii117ick search for the word 'Gaza' on Facebook yields hascii117ndreds of pages dedicated to Gaza in English, Arabic and other langascii117ages, some of which have hascii117ndreds of thoascii117sands of fans.

However, as with the Tascii117nisian aascii117thorities, Palestinian and Egyptian Gaza web activists have had to contend with page closascii117res and other forms of internet censorship. In  Jascii117ne 2010, the Facebook pages of Egyptian groascii117ps that were campaigning against the wall being constrascii117cted between Gaza and Egypt were shascii117t down. This left many Arab activists wondering which pages or even which sites woascii117ld be closed next.

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