This paper examines the role of social media in the Iranian protests which took place after the disputed presidential elections on the 29th of June, 2009. The prime-minister, Mousavi, claimed he had won the elections called on his supporters to start celebrations for his victory. The official results released by the electoral agency in Iran had indicated that the incumbent had won the elections with 63% of the votes cast (Alinejad, 2017). These sparked protests in the streets of the Iran capital, which were directed towards the sitting president and the government in general. The protests were created by the social media platforms which played a major role in the spread of information about the actions both at home and to the global community. The paper has discussed how the various social media platforms were used to disseminate information and the effect that that information had to the parties in the protests. Social media was used to recruit new members to join the movement; it was done by the various pictures and videos that were in circulation on the various social media platforms such as YouTube. In this paper also, the role of the Iranian government in the protests has been discussed. The government of Iran did various things such as the closure of the conventional media of communication owned by the government as well as blocking the text messaging services for all the Iranians. There was also censorship of the Internet by the government among other things. These actions fuelled the activities of the Green Movement. It is evident from the paper that social media played a critical role in the development of Iranian protests.
Introduction
Media activism refers to a type of activism that uses media as well as other communication technologies for political and social movements (Ghobadi, " Clegg 2015). Social media is mostly used as a method of media activism. Due to its interactive features and wide adoption, its users can quickly disseminate information and gather supporters. Media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook can reach a bigger audience, unlike the conventional media. After the presidential election in Iran on 29th June 2009, there were claims of rigging and electoral malpractices committed by the incumbent, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, leading to the spark of protests in the Iran capital from the opposition supporters. Immediately after the release of the results, the government closed down all the governmental media platforms that could pass any news to the Iranians and the global community. During this time, online media and platforms were the instrumental regarding rallying the opposition supporters for the protests and bringing the whole world on the know about the ongoing protests. This paper therefore examines the role of social media in the Iran protests, how social media created the protests, and how it fostered the spread of information. The role of the Iranian government in the protests is also examined in this paper.
How Social Media Contributed To The Creation Of The Protests In Iran
After the declaration of the presidential election results in Iran, supporters of the opposition leader Mousavi took the streets to protest against the declared results which indicated that the incumbent had won by 63 percent of the total votes cast. Under the slogan ‘’ where is my vote?’’, which was trending on Twitter, millions of supporters were questioning the validity and transparency of the electoral process. The slogan was a key in telling the supporters to protest against the apparently rigged polls (Diamond, 2015). That was the genesis of the infamous Green Movement in Iran because the opposition leader’s campaign color was green, this, therefore, made the protesters dress in green as well as decorating their placards in green color. Twitter therefore through that slogan, which turned out to be the hash tag, in a way created the protests since it is from it that the actions were witnessed in the streets.
Facebook was another tool that was effectively used in creating the protests and bringing people to the streets. It was through this social media platform that the Iranians would get to know about the happenings during the demonstration time. Through Facebook, the people were made aware of the rigging claims thus sparking the protests against the declared results. Because the text messaging service had been cut off, Facebook was used for getting and sharing information about where and when the demonstrations would take place. Protests in Iran were therefore greatly created through the social media platforms since the government media of communication such as the official channels had been closed down.
The Role of Social Media in Spreading Information about the Iran Protest
Social media in Iran during the protests was a key in information dissemination. Because of the filter systems that had been put in place by the Iranian government, social media and the Internet was the only way through which information could be relayed. The happenings in the streets by the protesters were brought to the eyes of the world through social media platforms. Within a short time, the videos and pictures of the protesters in the Iran capital and other streets were shared to the Internet users. As a consequence, social media tools such as Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook became a pivotal stage upon which the protesters shared information and organized their demonstrations. Due to the massive use of Twitter, the Green Movement was dubbed by the western nations as the ‘Twitter Revolution.' The mass protesters in Iran used to tweet messages that gave hope, inspired the protesters, and sent an alarm as well to the entire world. Twitter was widely used in publicizing the happenings during the protests which included the way police officers in the capital handled and brutalized the protesters. The importance of these actions was to make the whole world aware of the mistreatment the protesters received in the fight of what they considered to be struggling for their rights.
Apart from Twitter, other social media platforms had a significant role at the time of the protests. The protesters held up their cameras to take videos and photos which was later relayed to the other people in the world to see what was happening. They were cognizant of the fact that if the whole world gets to know what was going on that would work as their defense. Through YouTube, the armature videos were circulating showing how the protesters were pelting stones, burning tyres and vehicles and the police beating up the protesters. The video that attracted massive attention was that of Neda Agha-Soltan's demise which circulated in the global community and Iran (Fadaee, 2018). The video later turned out to be the symbol of the Iran protests. According to Dabashi, 2017, the Internet and other social media platforms reduce the barriers to communication, in turn they enhance the spread of information and the organization of various groups that take part in social movements.
Facebook was effectively used for communication because the Iranian government had closed down other channels of communication such as text messaging after the disputed elections (Holliday, 2016). It meant that the Iranians, especially the protesters relied on social media as a tool of communication. Facebook was used in the organization of demonstrations, relaying information to the protesters and other interested parties, and motivating people to take part in the protests as a result of the disputed elections. Due to the number of sympathizers and followers that the protesters had, Facebook was used to keep them posted about the proceedings. The sympathizers, on the other hand, were waiting for communication from the political activists and the protesters on the ground on the time and location of protests so that they can give support and widely share the information about the planned protests.
According to Anderson (2016), Facebook and videos published on YouTube and Twitter, influenced people to become members of the Green Movement. People became motivated to take part in the protests against the rigged elections through these social media platforms. Feelings that they had after seeing and getting information from these platforms made them want to join the movement in the streets. However horrific the scenes were, the people were determined to fight and protests against what they considered delusion from the electoral agency which subverted their will. The videos and pictures captured by the protesters using their cell phones and shared on Facebook and YouTube significantly compelled more people to take part in the demonstrations. Due to the reality and authenticity of the videos, since they were not edited, the people were angered by what was going on having seen through the various social media platforms.
The Role Played By the Iranian Government in the Protests
The Iranian government was the center of the protests in Iran. Due to the fact that the incumbent was again declared to be the winner of the disputed elections, the government in some way crafted means of ensuring that the status quo remains. The political arena was closed, and about one week before the Iranians went to the polls, access to online media platforms was blocked by the government as well as Internet censorship in Iran introduced. The arrests of the followers, activists, and campaigners of the opposition leader followed. On the election night, the Iranian government blocked the text messaging service on mobile phones and a massive shutdown of what was considered by the Iranian government to be websites and newspapers that belonged to the opposition leader (Holliday, 2016). Reports indicated that about one hundred journalists were arrested and closure of journals and newspaper after the elections took place.
The government also decided through its paramilitary group called Basij in collaboration with the police to attack the peaceful demonstrators who were on the streets protesting against the election results. The protesters were shot and some of them arrested by the government. The Iranian authorities posited that there were about thirty-six protesters who were killed during the demonstrations (Kadivar, 2015). A dispute to this data was made by the protesters on the streets who argued that the number of those killed stood at slightly more than seventy protesters. After clashes had broken out between the anti-riot police and the protesters, there was civil unrest. The anti-riot police who were on motorbikes used everything within their means to disperse the unrelenting protesters. The supporters had staged their protests near the ministry of interior where the declaration of results had been made. The roads were barricaded and by more than two thousand supporters of the opposition leader. During the stage of the Green Movement, for the people on the streets protesting, the Internet was used as an avenue through which information and any other form of communication could be made since the government had closed down all the other channels of communication.
On the 16th of June 2009, it was reported that the former vice president of Iran Mohammad Abtahi had been arrested and put behind the bars together with the former advisor to the president. Some of the human rights activists who were pushing for the recount of votes were also arrested. The arrest activities by the police and the government angered the protesters. They were all over the streets demanding for the release of the arrested comrades. Together with their need for transparency in the electoral processes, the protesters were determined to see to it that their leaders were released.
The activities of the government to the Iranians especially the protesters fuelled the protests in Iran. Because of the maiming and brutal killings of the protesters, many more came up to join the movement to fight for their rights. The deaths did not scare the other protesters; instead, they were motivated by whatever the government was doing. The closure and blocking of other avenues of communication made many people suspicious of the motives of the authorities, making the protesters rely on social media which disseminates information faster and to a larger audience thus making the protests even strong.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is not possible to talk about the protests in Iran without focusing on the role that the various social media platforms played. Due to the availability of social media in Iran, news on the happenings did not have to come from the government; instead, it came from the protesters themselves which made the whole world aware of what was happening. The outside world was made aware of what was going on in Iran as well as what the Iranians were fighting for through videos and pictures posted on the various social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Through this analysis, it can be deduced that social media plays a critical role in ensuring efficiency in various social movements. The social media tools are effectively used to mobilize supporters and to give information to the various groups that take part in the movement. Social media, just like it did in the Iran protests, can give an avenue to the sympathizers to get information about the mission of the social movement in a more convenient way so that they can support where necessary. People, through the various social media platforms, get informed about the details of the demonstrations which include date, time and the location of the demonstrations.
References
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