The Iranian green movement was the political movement that arose in 2009 after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected. The Movements goal was to remove Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. According to The Washington Times and several other sources the election was rigged and “handed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an improbably lopsided victory” (The Washington Post). Ahmadinejad won the election with 66% of the votes which seemed impossible. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are political leaders of the green movement. The protests preceding the 2009 Iranian election were the biggest since the Iranian revolution in 1978. Throughout the green movement several protesters were arrested and many people were killed or beaten by riot police and governmental militia forces. I believe that social media provides a meaningful forum for real political change and can act as a useful tool that expresses political ideas and promotes change.
In Golnaz Esfandiari’s Article ‘The Twitter Devolution’ he explains that Twitter is “far from being a tool of revolution in Iran” (Esfandiari Golnaz, 2010). He believes Iranians have made real sacrifices in pursuit of justice rather than virtual ones (Esfandiari Golnaz, 2010). He states that Twitter publicists of the Iranian protests have played a role in Iran between the years 2009-2010, but not the “outsized role it's often been made out to be” (Esfandiari Golnaz, 2010). According to Mike Musgrove “It is hard to say how much twittering [was] actually going on inside Iran, the tweets circulated by expatriates in the United States tend to be in English [and] the Twitter interface does not support the use of Farsi” (Mike Musgrove, 2009). Mehdi Yahyanejad, manager of a Farsi-language news site in the States said t...
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...rather informative useful websites that can bring forth positive change. I hope to see the internet and social media sites being used as political reform tools in the future as they are today.
Work Cited: MLA Format
1. Barzegar, Abbas. "The Myth of Iran's Twitter Revolution." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 11 June 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
2. Esfandiari, Golnaz. "Our Magazine Archive." Foreign Policy. N.p., 07 June 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
3. Musgrove, Mike. "Twitter Is a Player In Iran's Drama." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 17 June 2009. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
4. Pfeifle, Mark. "A Nobel Peace Prize for Twitter?" The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 06 July 2009. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
5. Times, The Washington. "EDITORIAL: Iran’s Twitter Revolution." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 16 June 2009. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
The article named “spring awakening” wrote by Jose Vargas describes the impact of social media in converting the mentality of young Egyptian generations into bold and defend their inalienable rights as a citizen. This article justifies how social media can mobilize a tremendous number of people to stand up for their rights. The reasons that inspire my emotion is emerging of “Wael Ghonim” as a legendary vocal figure of action for change, revelation of social media as earthquake for change, and fundamental soci-political change.
Shiraev, Eric B., and Vladislav M. Zubok. International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
However, books and newspapers are not our sole source of the written word. Online blogs, articles, and newsletters now exist. Television and books have merged into one: the Internet. Revolutions, riots, and rebellions don’t just happen in our living rooms now, they happen on the go with us. On the subway, when we’re waiting in line at Subway, at our friend’s house as he talks about how he’s “way into subs.”
In the current time, it seems like one cannot go a day without using at least one social media website. This might be especially true among groups of teenagers and young adults. Social media became a vital part of daily life that feeds people with several types of information constantly. Political news is a type of information that can reach the people through the means of social media. Since presidents are constantly seeking new strategies to increase their communication with the public in order to spread their political message, they utilize the different social media websites. Hence, social media became a platform to spread political message. It is not surprising that now the majority of political officials and candidates have social media accounts more than ever before, such as a Twitter account.
While many people throughout the world see social media as a trendy new application in the service of personal amusement, the political upheavals in the Arab world have shown how it can change the dynamics of modern day activism. The Arab Spring Uprising interlaced social unrest with a technological revolution. Blogs, news websites, twitter feeds, and political list servers became avenues for communication, information flow and solidarity. Being capable of sharing an immense amount of uncensored information through social media sites has contributed to the success of many Arab Spring activists. Social media played a role in facilitating the events of the Arab Spring, but the main issues are rooted in a broader set of economic, political, and social factors. This paper will examine how social media impacted the Arab Spring Uprising. Specifically, I will look at how social media introduced a novel resource that helped to created internet activist communities, changed the dynamics of social mobilization and revolutionized interactions between protesters and the rest of the world.
Whether walking down the street, at a party, or even looking through the App Store, chances are the name "Twitter ' has stood out. Twitter is a social media site that allows it 's users to post news updates in real time, socialize with other users, or even just to view the most recent events going on in the world. It can be used as a modern-day newspaper, a text-messaging service, or even a blog. In David Carr 's article, "Why Twitter Will Endure", the main topic of discussion is how long this utility would last among us. In his article, Carr clearly and eloquently expressed his views on why Twitter will endure, through the use of his own ethos and logos.
Social movements come and go; they represent all manner of political aspirations, and aim to achieve their political objectives by influencing a particular target group’s opinion. Some groups reach out directly to just a few key decision makers or constituencies, while others act more indirectly by broadcasting their message to as wide an audience as possible. Popular forms of social media have played a significant influence in social movements throughout the last few years. Two prominent examples are Ai Weiwei’s use of the social platform: Twitter, and the use of Yik Yak at the University of Missouri. Social movements rely on the media for the mobilization of political support, validation in the mainstreams discourse, and opportunity to broaden
For example, in Saleem Kassim views, “As a result of the many technological advancements and innovations that have revolutionized how individuals communicate, an abundance of information has become available to everyone.” Saleem Kassim’s point is that anyone and everybody can put out information that can be seen by everyone when you are an internet user. For example, the news can tell you that there’s nothing happening in a certain country; whereas, someone from that country can post on twitter and upload videos showing anyone that decides to see the truth of what is really happening in their country. Kassim also states, “Ultimately, public information supplied by social networking websites has played an important role during modern-day activism, specifically as it pertains to the Arab Spring.” In other words, Kassim believes that digital communication has brought people together to fight for something that is a good cause. To have people aware of the truth and to have someone do something about it. Indeed it is highly likely that we bring people together for a good cause but digital communication can also cause a downside through having no censorship on what you post. When more people are brought up of current events trending they decide to hope on board to see if there is anything they can do to help. Not to mention, Graff and Birkenstein view it the same way. Like I mentioned earlier, Graff and
Picard, A. P. (2011, March 20). The History of Twitter, 140 Characters At A Time. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/digital-culture/social-web/the-history-of-twitter-140-characters-at-a-time/article573416/
Safranek, Rita. 2012. The Emerging Role of Social Media in Political and Regime Change. s.l. : Proquest, 2012.
Mingst, K. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 70-1). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company
In conclusion Twitter has a lot of dramatic history such as the hash tag wasn’t really a thing the company wanted to start which is pretty embarrassing considering how many people use it. But it can be a wonderful piece of entertainment in a person’s life. It provides you with the latest updates on news shows you what is currently trending and provides you with an easy retreat from the world. But is this really how you would like to spend your free time. On a phone just scrolling through the news feed to see whatever catches your eye, wow your cool. Twitter may seem to benefit you but it’s really just hurting billions of Americans who are constantly using it for the reason it wasn’t even made for.
The future of the United States government, policy structure, and elections will evolve around the emerging social media. How well politicians and government officials use the technology could shape the policies of our country.
Orenstein, Peggy. “I Tweet, Therefore I Am.” What Matters In America. Third Edition.Gary Goshgarian and Kathryn Goodfellow. New Jersey: Pearson, 2012. 40-43. Print.