Social Media in the Iran Election Crisis [Flashback]

August 27, 2009 | Willis Wee

IranFlag From the start of the presidential poll to a vote recount and Neda Soltani’s death, the crisis has never failed to get massive media attention both online and offline.

What has been particularly striking is how heavily social media is being used to deliver news of the situation to millions of people online.

Content is not being generated by professional journalists but by online users like you and me. More often than not, it is delivered faster and in larger size.

1. Blogs & Wiki

Detailed information largely originates from these two sources. Getting quick facts, explanations and follow ups on the crisis is convenient with blogs and wikis. With Twitter and Facebook acting as the microphone, these news married with videos from YouTube is quickly disseminated across the social media horizon.

2. Twitter

The hashtag #IranElection was one of the hottest trending topics in the whole month of June. Bite size (140 characters) updates by real people gave us a good glimpse of what’s really happening in Iran. We didn’t have the power to do that years ago, but now we can. With Twitter’s mobility and viral potential, we can now expect the freshest news without geographical barrier.

3. Flickr

This online photo-sharing community site has been a great source of video and picture footage. With so many pictures available, which are unlikely to be distorted, it almost feels like you are right there experiencing the turmoil.

4. YouTube

140 characters can bring the essential information across but it still cannot convey as much as videos can. YouTube videos of each protest and also Neda Soltani’s unfortunate death have spread through Facebook and Twitter like wildfire.

This is probably the first Iran election protest video that was uploaded.

Note: Video below can be disturbing.

An unfortunate death scene of Neda Soltani, which led to a battle call against the government’s brutality towards protesters.

Conclusion

Social media is taking up an increasingly big role in reporting real time information, undistorted. Sensitive information is no longer kept within the boundaries of tight government regulations. There is no longer a boundary and there is little control.

With the ability to bring real time news from all over the world to the screen in front of you, social media does make the world seem smaller.