The Iranian protests and New Media

All over the news in recent weeks has been the current unrest in Iran. The riots caused by the election results have been huge. A number of players from Iran’s soccer team have been banned for life for wearing a green armband in support of the opposition movement.

A previous post on this blog by Dave looked at the Tiananmen Square massacre, and whether or not people have a moral obligation to question what happened and ask the Chinese government to release information about what actually happened. While I don’t disagree with Dave’s post, we still have an ethical obligation to seek the truth. The problem with what’s happening in Iran, and Tehran specifically, is there is a very real fear/possibility of a similar thing happening. And it’s undeniable that a similar event should be avoided at all costs.

It’s possible that the current media blackout surrounding the protests, and the fact that foreign media have been expelled from the country, points to the possibility that the military have, or will, step in. Luckily, through footage from mobile phones and the use of New Media, some information is still getting out.

Iran will be a good case study showing how the importance of the use of New Media could potentially change political process. Sure, the launch of a Persian-language Facebook seems at first glance to be pointless. But think about it; like Tiananmen Square, the majority of the protesters seem to be students, who more so then any other group, are tech savvy. However, not everyone knows how to use the technology at their disposal. This is where Facebook, and Twitter, come into play. By giving everyone the tools, there is a greater possibility for any injustice to be seen by the world.

Google’s launch of a Persian translation service could be invaluable. If we ignore the fact that the translation isn’t 100 per cent accurate, it will still allow those in Iran to see what the rest of the world is reporting, and also will allow us to get some information from those that only speak Persian.

Given the reports that the Iranian (government controlled) media are mistranslating some of the things Barack Obama is saying about the unrest further proves the point. The Iranians need to understand exactly what the rest of the world thinks of the events.

In the end, there is still the possibility that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election. However, the external analyses of the results points to undeniable inconsistencies. Anything that eventually causes a proper recount/re-election is a good thing. The end definitely justifies the means, unless the means is a massacre.