Egypt Utilizes Social Media to Organize Protest

A protest was planned on January 25, 2011 against Egyptian President Hosin Mubarak’s 30-year rule. Massive numbers of protesters flooded the streets. President Mubarak eventually resigned from office on February 11, 2011.

Opposition groups were inspired by the people of Tunisina's use of social media sites, such as Facebook and YouTube, to help end the rule of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. They used Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to spread awareness of their protest and eventually record the protest.

Access to Protests via the Internet 

Many Egyptian activists use hashtag #Jan25 to spread information about protests and is still constantly being updated today. More than 700,000 people signed up to attend the protest on Facebook. During the protest, photos and videos of times of disorder and harmony were streaming to the world through social media sites.

Shown above, protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square--a location similar to New York's Time Square--were captured in a stunning picture. Chaos in the streets were recorded and posted on YouTube:

As described in a blog post by WardenOnDeck, during the protests, the government was aware "protesters across the nation were using social media outlets via the Internet to organize protests." The evening of January 17, the entire Internet was blocked off from the country. However, Egyptians found ways around the blocks. February 1, Goggle introduced a "speak-to tweet" service, allowing people to connect to Twitter through the telephone. The next morning, Egypt's four major internet service providers were back up and internet traffic returned to near normal levels.

The Egyptian government recognized the power of the internet to stimulate violent protests that would disrupt society. Even though there were many people killed and injured, not all hope is lost. To the right, the photo taken by Yannis Bhrakis portrays another side to the riots in Egypt. The photo is captioned, "In chaos, there is order: Egyptian rioters help an injured policeman in Cairo."

Media Less Controlled, but Censorship Continues

After Mubarak stepped down, there is more freedom in the media, but censorship is still practiced and journalists and bloggers have been arrested. The media was often used as a form of propaganda during the Mubarak reign. During the mass protests, state TV fought against the pro-democracy activists, but after Mubarak fell, they sided with protesters. However, with violent riots later in the year, editors slid back to speaking against protesters attacked by the military.

On the other hand, some journalists continued to speak out even as they were targeted when covering events on the streets. Young journalist Wael Eskandar said he felt his profession had become "more meaningful." He also admitted to feeling freer, despite the obvious dangers of harassment and even prosecution by a military court. "At times like these, it's worth the risk," he said to The Guardian. The media revolution in Egypt is only beginning.