"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate." - Noam Chomsky The Common Good, 1998.
Now I'm no conspiracy buff but I like to indulge in the odd matrix-esque, 'the truth is out there', big-brother controls everything-style theory once in a while. And Chomsky's words may sound overly anti-establishment to some but I must admit, it makes sense.
This week Dr Teodor Mitew addressed social media and it's effect on political revolution in the Middle East and North Africa in his lecture #mena #arabspring: The Social Network Revolutions (2011). He mentioned the 'a Gay Girl in Damascus' hoax and briefly, the conspiracy theories behind it (Mitew 2011). I vaguely knew of the hoax but not the ramifications behind it. This idea of social media, long praised as a tool in aid of revolution as a quasi-double agent in political revolution, stuck with me. Did the CIA mastermind the 'gay girl in Damascus' hoax to further civil unrest in Syria as the conspiracy theories suggest?
How heavy is the CIA's involvement in political revolution in the Middle East and North Africa? Is the CIA really using social media to weaken the regimes of foreign countries to aid their own political agendas? Its possible. It's absolutely probable if you lean towards cyber-utopianism and believe that social networks are the root of modern political revolution.
Google, Facebook, ebay and Paypal: brought to you by the grumpy men in black.
But as Evgeny Morozov suggests in this article for the guardian, that would be underestimating the "real-world activism" behind the political unrest (Morozov 2011). Personally, I understand the importance of social media in distributing political content to a wider audience; I understand the role digital technology plays in giving voice to those who may not have had a voice otherwise, but I'm not completely sold on the idea of cyber-utopianism. Cyber-realism on the other hand, seems a little too the other way, I agree that individuals start revolutions not technology but you can't deny that Facebook and Twitter have changed the face of the modern protest.
Oh and by the way, I'm a dirty rotten liar. I love conspiracy theories.
'Time to break the cyber-utopian myth': This video is under six minutes long and it's a really interesting crucial source that reflects much of what we talked about in the tutorials re: bilingual internet users sharing content, Aljazeera, Jo McQuilty's comment on users logging on to the internet for the sense of community it provides and more - it has it all!
Principles of Cyber-Realism: Explains fundamental points of cyber-realism. Discusses global citizenship, the importance of access and 'cyber-places' (online communities).
'Facebook & Google are CIA Fonts': Website listing various conspiracy theories around current events etc.
A Gay Girl in Damascus: How the Hoax Unfolded. Telegraph article displaying a timeline of the events leading up to and following the exposure of the 'A Gay Girl in Damascus' blog as a hoax.
Jay Rosen Is Wrong: “Twitter Revolution” And “FacebookRevolution” Cyber-Utopians Really Do Think It’s That Simple: Omri Ceren of the University of Southern Carolina discusses cyber-utopianism, social media, Egypt, Morozov and more. As you no doubt guessed by the title, it's critical of cyber-utopianism.
Cyber-utopianism reflecting on the Arab revolutions: Too optimistic too early?: Hurriyet Daily News (Turkish News site) discusses the role of social media in Syria, Wael Ghonim, Morozov, cyber-utopianism and more. It's a good source but mainly as a reiteration of what we covered in the lecture/tutorial.
and last but not least...
The Conscious Ape: Conspiracy theories, UFOs, ghosts, psychics and all that other fun stuff. Go on, have a look, you know you want to...
Chomsky, N, 1998, The Common Good, Odonian Press, accessed 10 October 2011
Morozov, E, 2011, ' Facebook and Twitter are just places revolutionaries go' The Guardian, 7 March. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/07/facebook-twitter-revolutionaries-cyber-utopians
Mitew, T, 2011, #mena #arabspring: The Social Network Revolutions. DIGC202 Global Networks, University of Wollongong, delivered 10th October.
Further Reading:
Cyber-utopianism reflecting on the Arab revolutions: Too optimistic too early?: Hurriyet Daily News (Turkish News site) discusses the role of social media in Syria, Wael Ghonim, Morozov, cyber-utopianism and more. It's a good source but mainly as a reiteration of what we covered in the lecture/tutorial.
and last but not least...
The Conscious Ape: Conspiracy theories, UFOs, ghosts, psychics and all that other fun stuff. Go on, have a look, you know you want to...
Nice post! I really like your opinion. I think it may have someone behind Facebook and twitter. Politics is pretty complicated and it hard to know what is inside from outside. I agree with you about how mew media such as Twitter and Facebook changed the face of the modern protest. Parentally, it has big change since new media appeared, it grant audience power to distribute information.
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ReplyDeleteYou know what, I would love to know more about conpiracy theories, for example the Illuminati. I however find it quite hard to believe the many different assumptions made about such conspiracies. For example as you can see in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBKDZhu-EZw) there a range of films made that contain some evidence that the Illuminati exists, but how do we know these are true and not just someone's imagination? Are we too "critical and dissident"?
ReplyDeleteHowever, in saying this I do think that we are encouraged to be critical of the information we are presented with. I do think that it is important to consider the source of the information and its' legitimacy. Where is it from, who made it, how did it come to light?
I do think the Internet and social media plays a major role in the discussion of such conspiracies where we able to understand more about them and perhaps come to an understanding that everyone can be satisfied with.
I have to agree with you that cyber-utopians take the force and effect of technology too far when looking at its influence on revolutions. I am undecided how far I sit on the other side of this debate, as recent protests have used twitter in particular to organise themselves, ie #occupy movement.
ReplyDeleteI particularly love that you've quoted Chomsky in relation to this debate- there needs to be more Chomsky in Digc! Great post.
This is a great post, and you introduce a broad range of ideas. Neither a cyber-utopianisn, not a cyber-realist, I sit somewhere in between. Yo mention Evgeny Morozov, now he's an interesting character. A cyber-realist in the fullest sense of the name, here's a TED talk where he delivers some chilling examples of the Internet helping oppressive, authoritarian regimes stifle freedom and dissent. While I do believe social media played an important role in aiding the efficiency of the protests in the Arab Spring, its important that the space of public discourse include cyber-skeptics like Morozov, lest we get carried away by our awe and fascination with technology.. oops, already happened.
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