With the Iranian election last week we have seen an incredible story unfold.
The state declared victory of Ahmadinejad has ignited a groundswell of reaction. The country is trying to speak up despite being highly censored.
Conversation has exploded on the social web and Iranians are asking where is my vote? As cited by Farnaz Fassihi in NPR’s article, “what is happening in Iran is being documented by Iranians” and the social web from YouTube to Flickr to Twitter is being saturated with content from Iran.
Widespread reports throughout the media cite Iran’s clamp down of coverage by blocking SMS services, many Internet IP addresses of social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter. People around the globe have reached out and supplied proxies for people inside Iran to be able to get out their word, their story, their voice.
Iran has long blocked most journalists from reporting – limiting their visas, restricting their access. In a time when such protests are thriving the restriction remains making coverage of what is happening inside Iran something new – something quite remarkable.
Much like the election of President Obama, the social web was critical in catapulting him to victory. Now in Iran the world is witnessing how social media is impacting what is happening street by street in Tehran. From disseminating news to rallying protesters, Twitter has become the central medium– connecting and electrifying what is transpiring. As cited in the “Washington Post” article yesterday, even the US State Department suggested Twitter not perform its routine maintenance during midday hour in Iran as its role was deemed critical.
We have been using the Vitrue SMI to track the events.
Vitrue SMI Trend Report for Iran Election 2009
Not surprisingly over the past three days, we see all terms have climbed with “Iran” being highest.
What is really interesting here is what this says about the coverage. Social media empowers us all to be producers of content and puts the user in the direct stream of not just consumption but in the direct production of content. News organizations around the globe are including social media within their reporting. With so much content being produced it certainly raises challenges for news gathering organizations to filter what is fact and what is fiction. Many are trying to verify and match stories coming out and reports are tempered with disclaimers on news sources – the line between mainstream and social media is blurring.
Return My Vote
The combination of coverage is powerful and as CNN’s journalist, Tony Maddox is cited in the NPR article “It reminds me of what got us all into journalism in the first place — which is that voices need to be heard,” he says. “The idea that governments or whomever tried to stop people being heard and they still find a way of being heard — I find that enormously liberating.”
Social media has become fundamental in how we communicate and the Iranian election is a clear testament that there is no greater medium to let users to be heard. Although the beauty and triumph of social media is highly organic, organizations need tools to make sure they are reporting accurate news and moderating inappropriate or inaccurate information. It is a new era and we need to find the right solutions that can tap into this groundswell while keeping the facts straight.
(Photo: RT @pblackshaw:Perhaps the best photo stream I’ve seen from Iran developments today http://www.flickr.com/photo… #iranelection)
Good Post. Couldn’t agree more. I think that the speed of the information being shared helps give the rest of us an untarnished view of the events. That being said, we need to approach future instances of this sort with caution: http://is.gd/15sNp