25 January—Tahrir Square Freedom—Facebook Does the Internet facilitate social and political change, or even democratization, in the Middle East? The subject of this inquiry is the use of online platforms among activists in the Middle East, and the importance of such platforms in effecting change. The topic has received wide …
Read More »Libya’s UN-Installed Government Cracks Down on Media as Opposition Protests Rage
July 30, 2016—Angry protestors marched in Martyrs’ Square yesterday, defying government measures to ban such gatherings. Outraged by the passivity of the new UN-installed government, protestors denounced al-Sarraj and demanded that he leave office.
Read More »Social Media Users Protest Detention of Members of a Young Egyptian Satirical Group
May 12, 2016—A social media campaign of selfies went viral yesterday in response to the recent prosecutorial decision to detain members of the group Street Children for 15 days. These activists and social media users called for the Street Children’s freedom by posting personal selfies with the Arabic hashtag, “Does the phone camera shake/scare you?”
Read More »PODCAST | We are all…NETWORKED.
Dr. Rasha Abdulla, associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the American University in Cairo speaks with us about her work on big data, social media and the Egyptian Revolution. Together with a group of scholars from the University of Amsterdam, Dr. Abdulla conducted big data research using the contents of the “We Are All Khaled Said” Facebook page. Dr. Abdulla was lead on an article investigating the role of the page as a venue for lessons in democratic participation.
Read More »Cases of Contention: Activism, Social Media and Law in Saudi Arabia
In a systematic examination of Saudi law, Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi explores how the Kingdom has justified its crackdown on activists and dissenters on social media. Golesorkhi investigates how these laws have been applied in the cases of nine different activists in the last four years. Mapping their trajectories alongside the language enshrined into Saudi law, this article offers valuable insight into why and how these actions have been taken by the Kingdom.
Read More »Live From Martyrs’ Square: Lebanon’s ‘Reality TV’ Turns Coverage of Peaceful Protests into a Media Battle
BEIRUT -- A visual orgy. A human tsunami. A numbers game. Observers ran out of labels to describe Lebanon's made-for-TV intifada against a three-decade Syrian presence and attempts to counter it by Damascus' allies. In a bid to sway public opinion for or against the government and its Syrian patron, …
Read More »Assessing the Democratizing Power of Satellite TV
In a March 25 interview with The Washington Post, American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice marveled at the contribution of satellite television to the emerging democratic trend in the Middle East and the world. Watching the Lebanese protestors in the streets, she argued, inspired people around the globe to take matters …
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