I’ll try to make this quick, since I feel like it’s painfully obvious. Arguing either that social media “caused” these events or had “nothing to do with them” are both stupid arguments.
Clearly people are marching in the streets because they are rejecting decades of oppression, human rights violations, corruption and poverty. It’s just as clear that tools like Twitter and Facebook help people connect, communicate and organize… and… ergo, help enable popular organization. It’s just like the communications equipment assisting Solidarity in Poland. These tools are disruptive accelerators and empowerers not causers (yes, I know I just made up at least one word there).
Does anyone really think that the governments wouldn’t be trying to suppress these communication tools if they weren’t tools that worked for the people???
