Social Media and the Arab World Revolution - Essay Example

? and Introduction Information is power. This may be considered an old saying or a cliche by many, but the value in the statement remains exactly as it suggests. People who are informed are empowered. Information has become a vital part in the modern world. The ease, access and spread of information and its dissemination has been boosted by the daily diminishing digital divide. Presently, news travel fast, information is acquired quickly due to the growth of technology. The advent of new media has made it easier for people and parties to gather and use information, and spread as far and wide as they want (Anderson and Eickelman, 2003: 39). Today, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have united millions of people, especially those with common interests and agendas. These platforms allow people to share ideas, thoughts and sentiments and discuss them with people interested, a process usually referred to as cyber activism. This activism has even made online political discussions possible. The Arab World countries have however, found new use for the new media. For them, their smart phones, twitter and Facebook are not just used for leisure, sharing, commenting and following, they have become their tools of liberation, their weapons against dictatorial regimes and a platform for gathering people towards mass action and collective responsibility (Anderson and Eickelman, 2003: 39). For these countries, it is a time for revolution, a time to change their lives, change corrupt regimes and establish a whole new season of leadership. The question is, is it right to say that the Arab world has reached its maturity in revolutionary processes due to the roles played by the new media? This is the question that this work seems to find an answer to. To do this, some case studies of events and countries where social media has been used to foster revolution, then an analysis of all the cases shall be done and a conclusion drawn. The 2010 Tunisia Revolution It all started when a street vendor in Tunisia, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself ablaze on claims of harassment by officials of the municipality. The updates of these images on the social media not only went viral but it also attracted emotional and harsh comments from the people, all attacking the government. This horrible police action laid the foundation of the revolution. The revolution, also commonly referred to as the Jasmine Revolution took place from 18th December of 2010. Some of the reasons why the protestors took to the streets included unemployment, inflation especially in the food sector, curtailed and restricted freedom of speech, unhealthy living conditions, police brutality among others. During the protests, which went to as far as past March of 2011, many people died and others injured. To the activists and non conformers, they wanted nothing less than the step-down of the then president, Zine EL Abidine Ben Ali. He had exercised his dictatorial rule for over 23 years since his election in 1987. The revolutionary protests in Tunisia took place in form of strikes, online activism, civil resistance and disobedience among others. When the government realized that the protestors were not willing to back off or retreat, Ben Ali finally stepped down on 15th January 2011. Foud Mebazaa then became the acting president, and the protestors demanded that elections be held in sixty days. All the RCD members were removed from government but the protests did not subside, resulting to the resignation of the prime minister. Tunisia opened the gate for the Arab world uprisings and revolutions, which have seen huge and immense changes in the dictatorial regimes. The revolution became famously known as the Twitter revolution, where the protests claimed that they were tweeting out the tyrants .To them, they were ready to bring change to the country and fight for democracy. The new media was vastly and widely used to propagate and call for mass action. At then, Tunisia had become a center of focus in the world. Egypt Revolution Probably the citizens of Egypt did not know the power they had vested in their smart phones and computers, through an element as simple as the internet. Statistics reveal that Egypt is one of the countries with a very low internet penetration, with less than 13%. Twitter (Hroub, 2009; 267). The people of Egypt were tired of a dictatorial; regime, a regime that had been there and did not seem to serve them as they would have wished. The 18 day protest and camping outside Tahrir Square, which is the heart of Cairo, brought an end to this. Countless number of people did not go to their homes for the eighteen days; they camped there overnight to ensure that the change they desired would come (Souri-Tawir, 2012: 88). Surprisingly, these protests did not start automatically. The Middle East and North Africa Google marketing manager, Wael Ghonim was a key player in rallying the people (Souri-Tawir, 2012: 86). Adopting the identity of a dead man, Wael posted in Facebook what many people could not have done. He attacked and criticized the government, helped in forming Facebook groups against the government and ensured that people got to know every cruel thing that the government did. The people rallied behind a leader whose identity they knew not, but they were determined to bring change to their country. A young man, Khaled M Said was brutally beaten by the police until he died. This was well captured and unfortunately, the video became viral in the internet. Wael create the Facebook page” We are all Khaled Said’ (Souri-Tawir, 2012: 86). This Facebook page was not only used to build sympathy for Khaled, it was also used to rally support against police brutality, and to further expose the government’s brutality. This event is said to have been the major event that led to the revolution that began on 25th January 2011 to 11th February 2011. To popularize the day that marked the event, January 25th, twitter was greatly used. The #Jan 25 hash tag was marked the day of the revolution by people. When this day was made known through Facebook, it gained publicity in twitter. For the Egyptian citizens, they wanted to bring an end to unfair elections, curtailed freedom of speech, meager and low salaries, poverty, torture, high rates of unemployment, corruption among others. Their protests were in form of marches, labor strikes, marches and non violent civil resistance (Souri-Tawir, 2012: 88). They demanded that the then president, Hosni Mubarak step down from power. As a result of the revolution, Wael was arrested, many people were killed and thousands of others injured, but the president stepped down. The Egypt constitution was suspended, both parliamentary houses were suspended and the military would rule for six months when the election would be held. This was a great day for Egypt as the people had managed to achieve their goals, all this made stronger by the use of new media. Egypt’s revolutionary process has also been witnessed in the 2013 crisis where the then president, Mohamed Morsi has been forced to step down from power. Gezi Park Uprising The revolution at the Gezi Park started on 28th May 2013 and was conducted in all parks of Turkey. The people were all against curtailed freedom of the press, restricted freedom of expression, unreasonable laws such as the forbidding the sale of alcohol in campuses, law forbidding public display of affection, people being jailed for unreasonable terms for acts of blasphemy, corruption, economic issues, and the main issue that sparked the revolution, the Gezi park. The government was planning to transform the park, one of the few green parks in Turkey and build a hall, and probably some residential. This did not auger well with the citizens and they took to all the major parks and cities, protesting and demonstrating to save the park, save the METU forest and end the authoritarian regime. The activists in this revolution had rallied the people online. Since the government restricts and curtails the freedom of speech, the activists sought a new dimension to bring change, the use of new media. Facebook updates, tweets, images, comments and YouTube videos were used to expose the government. This resulted to thousands of people availing themselves and joining the revolution. Protests continue to be held continuously as the people still expect that their rights will be granted. Online activism has been one of the major methods of protest, among others such as civil disobedience, strike actions, parks and street demonstrations among others. The main activists are using the new media to encourage the protestors not to quit no matter how long it takes, as they believe that eventually, the government shall give in to their demands. The country’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is still adamant and insists that whatever the government has decided cannot be changed. The people are not even given a chance to be involved in laws or policy making in the government. For them, the new media has brought them together and given them a sense of unity. The protestors, on June 15th had even constructed make shift live places in the Gezi Park where they had makeshift tents for libraries, medical care, distribution of food and some tents to live, just as it had been suggested in the social media. Other people camped at Taksim square and expressed their solidarity. There are other Arab countries that sparked revolutions through the use of new media. The 2011 Arab uprising was conducted, publicized and gained followers through new media. The websites and internet was used in organizing protests within and past the borders of Syria, since activists were all over. The Iran 2009 Green Movement is another example under this category. What the social media does From the above, there is a clean depiction that new media has a lot to do with the Arab world revolutionary process. The revolutions commonly referred to as Twitter and Facebook Revolutions depict new media as a political infrastructure. The important thing to realize is that all these countries have similar problems and issues, and hence new media helps these countries apply similar strategies. This is what gave birth to the term “Arab Spring’. The new media has been used effectively to revolutionize these Arab countries as Hroub(2012: 268) notes. There are four things that the new media, most especially social platforms such as Facebook and twitter, has been seen to do. To begin with, it can foster individual transformations. Wael Ghonim saw that things were not right in Egypt. He took this opportunity to speak out his mind. Revolutionary process begins with one individual mastering enough courage to speak against a misdeed or a wrong doing. When this happens, there is individual transformation in that the person feels that they can bring change in a situation, just like Wael in his hidden identity did. An individual’s political stand can be shaped through social platforms, and as a result, slowly begin to recruit new members. Secondly, these social platforms can strengthen members of a particular group, when they are united by similar goals and interests. This is because the social platform has extended to a political discussion arena, and the people in a particular group can add and contribute their political views, influencing others and also strengthen the existing members of a group. They can thus call for collective action and reactions amongst themselves, and even organize for demonstrations. This was the case when the ‘We are all Khaled Said’ Facebook group was formed ( Souri-Tawir, 2012: 86). It provided people and the group members a chance to strengthen their unity by their comments, arguments and discussion. Anderson and Eickelmann (2003; 39) argue that new media gives people a chance to unite, become a community and gives them the power to challenge regimes. When this happens, confidence in a group is generated since people know that they share the same views. After all, ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ works best here. More people facing the same issue are likely to be stronger than when a person is all alone. The Facebook and twitter platforms gave the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and most recently Turkey, the chance to prove to themselves and to the world that they are strong. The third thing that the new media and social platforms can do is to help people draw attention, both internal and external. Khatib (2013; 30) says that images in the media help to gain attention from people. The people of Syria extended their activism beyond their borders. The activists in all these countries were all over, within and beyond, and the social platforms ensured that they were all one (Khatib, 2013). They were able to spread and disseminate information at a very fast rate and this ensured that they gained both internal and external attention. An issue that attracts external attention is not a petty issue. When Khaled Said was brutally beaten by the police to death, the video attracted international attention (Souri-Tawir, 2012: 86). When Bouazizi set himself ablaze and his death blamed on the police, international attention was gained. This therefore ensured that the police would try to be more cautious in their actions to attract less negativity from the other countries. Human rights violation is an issue that is taken very seriously by many countries, especially those with already established democracy. It can lead to making or breaking of international ties and friendly relations. The people in Egypt and then other countries knew that if they portrayed the real picture of how their country was, to the people outside their borders, the government was most likely to give in to their demands. This internal and external attention is achieved through posters, videos and statements (Khatib, 2013). Khatib (2013: 30) also adds that the media, even the mainstream media is importance for generating attention. Therefore, since the citizens in the Arab countries do not own their own mainstream media, they relied on the internet to gain attention, what Khatib calls image politics. He gives the Cedar revolution in Lebanon as a good example where images in the media were used to cultivate attention. (Khatib, 2013: 30-31) The last thing is that this new media can either strengthen or topple over strong regimes. When the videos of the deaths and brutality in Egypt went viral, many people volunteered to join the activists and stand against the dictatorial regime. When more attention is realized and generated by the groups and activists, more heat is generated. When sworn to power and authority, presidents and leaders swear to work for the good of their country and to serve the citizens that elected them. They are supposed to forego and forget any selfish interests that they may have and work for the well being of the country. When the protestors in Egypt camped in Tahrir square camped for eighteen days, without showing signs of retreating or surrender, Hosni Mubarak knew that it was time to step down and give room for the people to be heard. This signified a change in the rule of Egypt, democracy had slowly started developing. This achievement was partly made possible by the presence of new media. (Hroub, 2012: 269) that internet mobilization can be used to make changes, just like it was in Egypt. In addition, he notes that when all other agents of change fail, people can turn to the media for help (Hroub, 2012: 270). A large amount of unregulated and uncensored information that was passed in Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and the other Arab countries significantly contributed to the revolutionary process. This was an important aspect in the changes that were experienced before, during and after the protests. The so called Facebook and Twitter revolutions helped to dispel fear from the people. They got a chance to know that they had supporters from all over the world, and that there were other people who had gone or were still going through similar problems. When people are blinded by fear, they can never deliver or liberate themselves from oppression, and thus, twitter, Facebook, smart phones and YouTube opened up the eyes of the Arab world. Other factors A revolution is just that, a revolution. It comprises a revolution, counterrevolution and attempts to fix the revolution. This therefore means that it may be untrue to say that new media is the sole reason for Arab world’s maturity in the revolutionary process. As earlier mentioned, research showed that only a small number of people in these Arab world countries have access to the social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The fact that a great number of people have cell phones does not mean that all of them are connected to the social sites. The internet, as Hroub mentions is only for those people who have access to it (Hroub, 2013: 271). This means that there must have been other factors that contributed to the uprising in these countries. The theory of Resource mobilization worked against the government, especially in the Arab world. In an attempt to expand socioeconomic development, the government of Egypt had made efforts to promote communication. It had ensured free access to the internet and availability of computers at cheap prices. The theory of resource mobilization states that when resources are available, people will tend to do even that which they should not do with the available resources. Resources are what mobilize people to do some of the things that they do. The fact that the people of Egypt had that much access to smart phones meant that indirectly, the government created and facilitated its own down fall. The activists knew that whatever they posted in their Facebook walls was uncensored, and the government could not edit or delete, unless it shuts the social platforms down. They indirectly evade state control and got heard. Souri-Tawir (2012: 90) says that availability of a place to assemble contributes greatly to a successful revolution, and this was one factor that fostered Egypt uprising. Tahrir square was aptly located, and was big enough, giving people a place to assemble. In addition, take a case of how the government reacted in almost all of these countries during the revolutions. During Egypt revolution, the government responded by heavily censoring the social networks, which were later, turned off (Souri-Tawir, 2012: 92). It later used the very same internet to uncover the structure of the activists and rebels organization, unmasking their identities. In Syria, the same was done by the government and as a result, Mohammed Nabbous, a leading activist was eliminated and killed by a sniper. In Tunisia and Egypt, the same was done. The government tried to control the social web, to an extent of stealing citizens passwords so that they could delete, change or remove updates by the people, and eventually shut down the internet completely. Non conformists such as Aziz Amamy were imprisoned, and all communications disabled. Why did the people still push on with the revolution? When the websites were shut down, there was no more uncensored communication, there were no updates of what was to be done next, but the groups of protestors still forged forward with their plans. This clearly shows that new media was not the sole reason for the maturity of the Arab world countries and their revolutionary process (Souri-Tawil, 2012: 94). It is also evident that new media, especially Facebook and Twitter were just but tools used during the revolution. They were not agents on their own. If it were to be taken that new media was the main revolution weapon, this would be making a wrong assumption. Why? The government also used the social media in the counterattack mechanisms. They used the social media to spread their propaganda, especially about the activists, saying they were just but doing all the rallying for selfish interests. On the other hand, the activists used the social media to rally people for support, to enlighten them of the present situation of the country among other functions. The new media would not have sufficed alone; it was just one of the many tools that were used by the non conformists. The recent revolution and crisis in Egypt and in Turkey depict how the new media, especially the social media are just but tools. It is by luck and probability that the 2011 crisis led to the step down of Hosni Mubarrack. The Muslim Brotherhood has rallied people in Facebook against the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, how successful has that been? In Turkey where the Gezi Park uprising is taking place, there are millions of people carrying out online activism, but the government still refuses to give in to their demands. This therefore shows that the social media are just but tools for change. To top on to the above, governments have been using the internet for a long time now. It saw the crisis, riots and protests coming. Maybe the different dictatorial leaders did not see the revolution being as strong as it is now. Revolutions have not been born with the birth of the new media. They have been silently cooking for years, maybe for decades, but an opportune time presented itself with the birth of new media. Most of these Arab world countries are known to be under strict dictatorial regimes which exercise restrictions to internet freedom (Hroub, 2009: 267). The authoritarian governments work tirelessly to uphold their rules and power by controlling the dissemination of information. The old traditional media, considered to be the mainstream media appears to be biased and never presents issues as they are. It could have been that the earlier time activists never had a chance to trigger a revolution. They could never speak against the dictatorial regimes for fear of their lives. However, with the advent of the new media, the non conformists got an arena where they could rally an audience, feed them with their ideas and eventually bring changes with their countries. Therefore, it means that new media gave birth to an old unborn revolution. Anderson and Eickelman (2003: 39) note that the media, particularly the new media can be used as nation building channels, the internet can be used to mobilize people for public action and the people can collectively get an opportunity to answer back to the government (Anderson and Eickelman, 2003: 39). This is echoed by Khatib, who by his examples of Lebanon shows how effective the media is, and how it can be used as a political tool (Khatib, 2013: 31) Conclusion The value of the freedom of speech and expression, a free media and the right to be heard are of paramount importance. A country that allows the freedom of expression is more likely to grow and develop than one that does not. The value attached to communication in the present world cannot be understated. Technology in form of new media has facilitated the spread and dissemination of information, and also helped to bring mass changes in the world. The world has changed, and all people desire to be in a country that grows and develops in all aspects, political, economical, cultural development among others. The Arab world has gone through many years of dictatorships, harsh rules and regimes that curtail the freedom of speech (Khatib, 2013: 29; Hroub, 2012: 267). It is evident that new media greatly contributed to the Arab spring that is happening in the Arab world. These countries are headed towards their political maturity, and new media has given them a voice, a stand, a responsibility and created unity among the people. Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and presently Turkey can very well attest to the power that the new media has given them. It not only helped to foster faster communication, but also the speed of interaction among the nonconformists and their rallied masses was efficient. New media, especially Facebook and Twitter deserve credit for the revolutions in the Arab world. However, it can’t be solely said that this new media is solely to attribute for the revolutions. Other factors also count in and for the voice to have been heard, a lot has been done. It is only safe to say that revolutions started brewing a long time ago. It’s only that new media facilitated their birth. These revolutions are of paramount importance in the Arab world. Some people argue that the regimes should be maintained, that they remain strong and forcefully assert their leadership, that this is the only way to maintain law and order, and a safe way to continue having a population of law abiding citizens. The reality is that these people are oppressed. They yearn and long for their freedom of expression, and now that Egypt has finally managed to take a step to its liberation, led by their predecessor, Tunisia, the Arab world countries will not stand to see their rights violated. The new media has boosted the attainment of the newly found freedom, it has united people and given them a strong voice, but probably the countries will have to find a new tool to use for the revolutions if the governments keep breaking down the communication channels and the websites. There are many people who are writing academic and other scholarly materials, arguing that the new media is the reason for the way things are politically in the Arab World. The recommendation is that these people writing of new media and the Arab Spring should take their time to deeply understand the Arab world, the spread and penetration of the internet and the other factors that supported the revolutions. More research on the same is advised so that the real value of media freedom can be portrayed. References AlRasheed, M., 1999. Evading State Control: Political Protest and Technology in Saudi Arabia. Anderson, J., and Eickelman, D. (2003). New Media in the Muslim World: The Emerging Public Sphere. 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