Measuring the Impact of Middle Eastern Social Media 

Iran has one of the highest levels of Internet use in the Middle East.  Since 1992, Iran has promoted efforts to expand telecommunications in ways that can benefit the government.  While the government has supported Internet growth in some areas, it has also blocked popular use of the Internet through extensive filtering in an effort to control what the Iranian people have access to.  Internet access was increasing only very slowly from 2003 to 2008, from about 600,000 to just over 1,000,000, but has since increased far more quickly, but again, with a lot that is blocked through filters, including topics like sexual content, religious issues, the arts, human rights, political issues and so on.  Despite these policies, though, Iran’s Green Movement in 2009 was largely fueled by social media.

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            In 2009, Iran held elections for president, but since the government has such tight control, the candidates are carefully selected.  The current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was very conservative and unpopular.  In order to make people feel more comfortable with the election, the Ayatollah and the Guardian Council that choose candidates allowed Mir Hossien Mousavi to run.  He had been a prime minister, but he was more progressive than Ahmadinejad.  It was thought that Mousavi was no real challenge, “But Iran’s nascent civil society, reformers, the women’s movement and student organizations suddenly came to life. Vast networks of supporters appeared all over the country, connected through the Internet and social network sites” (Milani).  In spite of this massive turnout, Ahmadinejad was declared the winner on June 13.  It seemed clear to the people that this was predetermined and hundreds of thousands of people came out to protest.

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            The protest in favor of Mousavi on the streets of the capital ctiy Tehran became known as the Green Movement.  It got its name because the head of Iran’s reform movement, Mohammad Khatami, had given Mousavi a green band.  The hundreds of thousands protesting soon grew to over three million people.  Frustrated women, people who wanted reform, student organizations and those who were not religiously oriented all came out in support of Mousavi and his promise of a more civil society, less theocracy (rule by religious group).   “The movement was widely seen as a new non-violent, non-utopian and populist paradigm of revolution that infused twenty-first century Internet technology with people street power.”  The people were out to protest what clearly looked like government manipulation.

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            The Iranian government’s crackdown on the Internet did not include Twitter and that became the main way that people communicated.  In the week of the Green Revolution, from June 15 to June 19,  “98% of the links from Twitter were about Iran.” Twitter connected those in Iran to each other and to the rest of the world.  Activists recruited other people and the buzz in Iran became all about the protesting.  Twitter also allowed for constant, instantaneous updates on what was happening. Bloggers, both inside and outside Iran, then joined in. People from other countries were also involved.  For example, one blogger from Great Britain suggested ways that other outside sympathetic bloggers could adjust their twitter settings to match Iranian settings.  YouTube videos also became an important way to get information out.