Speakers Debate Role of Social Media in Recent Revolutions

The signs of unrest appeared–at least to the rest of the world–on Jan. 25, 2011. Tens of thousands of Egyptians of all ages and social classes began to crowd the streets of Cairo, Egypt’s largest city and political epicenter of President Hosni Mubarak’s government.

Revolution in Egypt was on the heels of another similar scene of political activism in Tunisia, where intense demonstrations that began in December 2010 eventually ousted the 23-year-old regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Though by no means were these the first protests against the oppressive policies of Mubarak or Ben Ali. This time, activists had a tool they previously had not: the power of the Internet–specifically, social media.

Michigan Radio hosted “The Revolution is Online: Social Media + Arab Uprisings” at the Friday night in an effort to explain the role of social media in the recent Middle Eastern demonstrations.

Videos on YouTube, tweets about what was actually happening in Egypt and Tunisia, Facebook postings encouraging thousands of people to protest peacefully helped galvanize dissatisfied residents and provided people within these countries as well as around the world an unadulterated view of several uprisings.

These uprisings would eventually lead to the end of two moneyed, foreign-supported and entrenched governments that few thought could be forced from power–potentially changing the face of the Middle East forever.

Aided, Not Spurred

Friday night's panelists were Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy, documentary filmmaker Jigar Mehta, civil rights attorney and activist Atef Said, and Tim Kiska, a journalist and professor at the . Vincent Duffy of Michigan Radio moderated the discussion.

The nature of social media–the ability to post video and photographs in a simple way shortly after an event has occurred and to be able to disseminate information to potentially millions of people around the globe–was a factor that allowed small groups of individuals who wanted to voice opposition to government policies to become a large one, said Said.

“(Social media) allows you to express your support for others,” he said. “It allows you to say, ‘You have to come here ... you should be ashamed of yourself if you’re not going (to a protest); it’s about your dignity.' ”

Social media also helped individuals with different grievances, whether it was individuals concerned about the lack of free elections and government transparency, the treatment of the poor and police brutality or young people concerned about lack of employment opportunities to connect, added Said.

But Eltahawy said that while social media provided an important outlet for protesters, there have always been protests against Mubarak that were seldom heard about–especially in the United States.

“It’s not like people just said, ‘I really don’t like being under this dictator; let’s get rid of him,’” she said.

Still, Eltahawy said Facebook and Twitter allowed the world to see the demonstrations firsthand–and the violent pushback by military police.

“This allowed us to say (to the government), ‘I count,’” she said. “It was seismic shift.”

Future Uncertain

When unrest began in Tunisia, Tim Kiska was able to watch violent confrontations from his home on the east side of Detroit.

“When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, you know how many people had film? One,” he said. Kiska said that he was amazed that he could watch videos in his home as the event unfolded.

None of this means Kiska isn’t skeptical. He pointed out that it’s easy for government officials to infiltrate social media groups and create their own propaganda, with little or no accountability.

Filmmaker Jigar Mehta is working on a project called 18 Days in Egypt, which is a documentary made entirely of photographs, tweets and videos to chronicle the events in Egypt. He said the project is important because if tweets and Facebook posts are erased, crucial information recorded as it occurred could be lost forever.

On Feb. 11, Mubarak–who had been in power for 30 years–announced he would resign his presidency, something he previously stated he would not do. The protests, by that time, went from thousands to millions of demonstrators.

Said indicated that although social media has played a vital role in the ongoing situation in Egypt, the revolution is not over.

“Revolutions need to be supported by people in the streets,” he said. “There are no virtual revolutions.”