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Since 2011 social media has been directly associated with various uprisings and revolutions. The Arab spring spawned a series of revolutionary movements that are unique in that they utilized social media as an effective means of spreading information and promoting insurgent agendas. The Arab spring uprisings are the first collective movements of their kind in the Middle East. The factors of social media affecting public opinion and international support in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt, are increasingly rapid news alerts, widespread messaging, and the ability of the individual to spread information globally are a new phenomena during a given revolution. On the other hand regimes can implement social media to meet their own agendas in never before seen ways. The future of revolutionary movements in globalized societies will involve social media is assured, the degree to which can only be determined as it happens.


 In Libya, while the revolution was ultimately successful in ousting Muammar Gaddafi, social media played a smaller role in comparison to the rest of the Countries involved in an Arab Spring movement. Libya’s government maintained a strong grasp of the Internet infrastructure, and Gaddafi as an egomaniacal autocrat responded only to insurgent militia, once NATO aided them. “According to twitter there are plenty of serious things going on. The site is ablaze with tweets reporting that Libya’s day of rage has resulted in anarchy. #Qaddafi is at war with #Libya as we speak, helicopters, troops, thugs, security and foreign mercenaries all against unarmed protestors” (McHugh). There were also reports of injured and murdered protestors at the hands of Libyan security forces. Some reports said the death toll had risen to 19, while the Middle East and northern Africa are rife with protests in the wake of Egypt’s revolution. In Libya public dissent is a rare among the people. Plans for protests were being circulated by anonymous activists on social networking sites such as facebook and twitter (day of rage, Al-jazeera), one facebook group urged a “day of anger” in Libya which had 4400 members, two days later the presence of the group more than double to 9600 members. Social media cites were reportedly blocked for several hours and were then restored later on the same day. Al Jazeera is understood to have been taken off the state owned television network, but is still available through satellite. People posting messages on an opposition website called “libya-watanona.com” based outside Libya urged the people to protest (day of rage, Al-Jazeera). “From every square in our beloved country, people should all come together in one city and one square to make this regime and its supporters afraid, and force them to run away because they are cowards” said a post on that particular website. Also calling for reforms were some of Libya’s well off individuals. A group of prominent figures and members of human rights organizations have demanded the resignation of Gadaffi. The demands came in a statement signed by 213 prominent Libyans from different segments of society, including political activists, lawyers, students, and government officials (a day of rage, Al-Jazeera).

 Tunisia was the first domino where the underlying source of the uprising lay inside government corruption, inequality, censorship, and joblessness. The Tunisian protests began in 2010 with a college educated street vendor (Mohamed Bouazizi) self-immolation in the costal town of Sidi Bouzid in despair of corruption and joblessness. The burn inevitably killed Mohamed, although despite Tunisians strict web censorship laws was rapidly fanned by online Internet tools (social capital). “Because the protests came together largely through informal online Networks, their success has also raised questions about whether a new opposition movement has formed that could challenge whatever new government takes shape” (social capital). “Prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, a close ally from the president’s hometown, announced on state television that he was taking power as interim president. But that step forward violated the Tunisian constitution, which provides for a succession by the head of parliament, something that Ghannouchi tried to gloss over by describing that Ben Ali as temporarily unable to serve.” (social capital) “By late Friday night January 7th, 2011, Tunisian facebook pages previously emblazoned with the revolts slogan, “Ben Ali Out”, had made way for the name of the interim president. “Ghannouchi Out”, they declared… And the protesters relied heavily on social media web sites like Facebook and Twitter to circulate videos of each demonstration and issue calls for the next one.” (social capital) The fall of President Ben Ali marked the first time that widespread street demonstrations had overthrown an Arab Leader. “ Even before the last clouds of tear gas had drifted away from the capitals café lined Bourguiba Boulevard, people throughout the Arab world had begun debating whether Tunisia’s uprising could prove to be a model, threatening other autocratic rulers in the region” (NY Times, Kirkpatrick). A 33 year old doctor Zied Mhirsi protesting outside the interior ministry carried a sign highlighting how he believed Tunisia’s protests could embolden the swelling numbers of young people around the Arab world to emulate the so called Jasmine Revolution, (Kirkpatrick, NY times). The United States had counted Tunisia under Ben Ali as an important ally in battling terrorism. Although after the revolution had gotten underway and ousted Ben Ali Barrack Obama came out with a statement that he “applauded the courage and dignity of the Tunisian people”(Kirkpatrick, NY Times) “The United states with the entire international community is bearing witness to this brave and determined struggle for universal rights, we will long remember the images of the Tunisian people seeking to make their voices heard” (Barack Obama, Kirkpatrick, NY Times).

 Following the Tunisian revolution, protests continued to spread across the Arab world into Egypt. On January 25,2011 where opposition leaders declared it a “Day of Rage” on which protestors would take to the street against President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year rule. The Egyptian protestors included but not limited too, secularists, Islamists and communists/ultra-left wingers making up a who’s who of Egyptian opposition (Social capital). Exact numbers of protestors could not be estimated, a flood of Internet photos and videos showed a massive presence in Cairo, Alexandria, and other Egyptian cities. The protests lasted eighteen days and Internet savvy protestors used Twitpic, facebook, and YouTube to disseminate photos and videos and called on Egyptians to protest, providing minute-by-minute tweets concerning where to assemble in an effort to outwit the police forces (Social Capital, NY times, Fahim, El-Naggar). The Egyptian government originally engaged in episodic censorship. One video posted on YouTube and the Shared via facebook claimed to show Egyptian riot police being assaulted and seriously injured by protestors. However, the video was taken offline for a terms of service violation. There were also reports that during the protests of January 25th and 26th people had trouble accessing facebook and twitter, which were the main sites that helped groups organize and spread news of current situations. (Social Captial, NY times, Fahim, El-Naggar).
 The Internet crackdown began on January 28th when the government, amidst large-scale demonstrations moved to fully restrict the Internet and cellular forms of mobilizing demonstrators. “Internet and cell phone connections had been disrupted or even restricted in Cairo, Alexandria and other places that had been used to organize protests and complicating efforts by news media to report about various events happening on the ground. Some reports even said that police who used batons to beat and charge protestors had singled out journalists. Mubarak’s unsubtle crackdown on internet and cell phones not only imposed great cost on the economy, but had the ironic consequence of actually radicalizing many rural Egyptians into opposing the Mubarak regime. President Hosni Mubarak betrayed his own fear that Facebook, twitter, laptops and Smartphone could empower his opponents. There was reason for Mubarak to be shaken up since his weaknesses were exposed by these technologies. On February 10th amidst protests, vice president Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had given up his power. This meant that for the first time ever Egyptians would be able to vote meaningfully. More recently from mid 2013 to the present Egypt is still very unstable politically. Egypt’s second revolution has ousted Muhammad Morsi. There are various assertions that Morsi is correlating the military to put down protest, even after he’s agreed to step down. There is evidence that facebook was used much more prominently in the second revolution than the first (Shane, Push comes to shove).
Due to continuous current events trying to draw a conclusion can be somewhat of a daunting task since news is always changing. But based on the steady use of social media from the being of the Arab spring in 2010 goes to show that social media is a portal for networking and being social along with political. These political attributes to social media allow the people to organize for the people and by the people. With that said along with the influence of western cultures younger generations can see that they have the power to provide better lives for themselves and generations to follow. "Arab Spring and Social Media." YouTube. YouTube, 04 Feb. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "CNN at SXSW: Social Media in Arab Spring." YouTube. YouTube, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "'Day of Rage' Kicks off in Libya - Africa - Al Jazeera English." Al Jazeera English. N.p., 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. Fahim, Kareem, and Mona El-naggar. "Across Egypt, Protests Direct Fury at Leader." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. "Front Lines of the Libyan Revolution (Documentary)." YouTube. Vice, 27 July 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. Jamshidi, Maryam. "The Future of the Arab Spring Video." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. Kirkpatrick, David. "President of Tunisia Flees, Capitulating to Protesters." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. McHugh, Molly. "Libya Inspired by Egyptian Revolution, Uses Social Media in Midst of Protests." Digital Trends. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. Shane, Scott. "PUSH COMES TO SHOVE: Technology Helps Ignite Change (as in Tunisia). Except When It Bolsters Oppression (as in Iran)." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Jan. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. "Trial of Ex Tunisian President Ben Ali: Opening Day." YouTube. YouTube, 22 June 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. "Twitter, Facebook and YouTube’s Role in Arab Spring (Middle East Uprisings) [UPDATED 7/7/13]." Social Capital Blog. Social Capital, 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.