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The Twitter Revolution: more than just a slogan

Political insurrection is never solely driven by technology. But it is profoundly changing the landscape of modern protest—in favour of those fighting for democracy

by Clay Shirky / January 6, 2010 / Leave a comment
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Published in January 2010 issue of Prospect Magazine

President Ahmadinejad: the Iranian regime is more than willing to temporarily prevent citizens from using social networks


In “Why the internet is failing Iran’s activists” Evegeny Morozov argues that the protests which took place in the streets of Tehran in November 2009 may not have been triggered by social media—a sentiment with which I am in complete agreement. Just as the printing press didn’t exclusively cause the Protestant Reformation, the source of those protests in Tehran, as with all protests, was the willingness of the people to defy their government. This does not mean, however, that those protests were like all previous ones, save for the slogan—which in 2009 was notably directed against dictatorship, rather than the traditional “death to America” sentiment. The crucial point to glean from the protests of 2009 is that, just as the Protestant Reformation was shaped by the printing press, the Iranian insurrection was and is being shaped by social media.

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Comments

  1. Patrick Meier
    January 7, 2010 at 06:45
    Where I Disagree with Morozov vs Shirky on Digital Activism: http://irevolution.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/morozov-vs-shirky
  2. Whither Twitter? - CIPE Development Blog
    June 7, 2010 at 14:38
    [...] in democratic movements?   Does social media lessen popular commitment to political causes or shift the balance of power toward the citizenry?  Recent protests in Iran, Moldova, Kenya, and elsewhere are proving [...]
  3. Weeks 3 & 4: Digi Communities For Social Justice? The Medium and The Message « Global, Digital Media: Building Communities
    November 13, 2012 at 15:51
    [...] And Mr. Shirky’s response on why the Twitter revolution is more than a slogan. [...]

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About this author

Clay Shirky
Clay Shirky is the author of "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations" (Penguin) 2008
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