Almost immediately after the Arab uprisings began, there was debate over the role and influence of social media in the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the imminent overthrow of Mubarak. read more
Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit.ly links from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain. read more
Social media’s role in the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests that came to be known as the Arab Spring remains a highly debated subject. Uprisings occurred both in states with very high levels of internet usage (such as Bahrain, with 88% of its population online in 2011) and in states with some of the lowest internet penetration (Yemen and Libya). read more