Revolutions in the Arab World and Russia

Social Media during Civil Unrest: Revolutions in the Arab World and Russia Name Institutional Affiliation Social Media during Civil Unrest: Revolutions in the Arab World and Russia Introduction The ever-increasing of advancement in communication technology has had a profound effect on human civilization. It brought about the establishment and consequent advancement of social media as a means of communication used by nearly all of the human population. Over time, social media has evolved from a mere means of communication into an important convention of social life, since it is used to inform, educate, rehabilitate and entertain. Due to this elevation in status, matters of social concern receive the much needed attention. This has made social media an extremely powerful tool used in protests and appeals for assistance. Such has been the case in many societies around the world where people took advantage of the ability of social media to spread information over a long distance within the touch of a few buttons. This paper seeks to identify the role played by social media during the Arab and Russian social revolutions. According to Harb (2011), series of protests collectively labelled as the Arab Spring is a good example of the profound effect that social media can have, and how it shone a light on social injustice. These events were set in motion when a street vendor in Tunisia set himself ablaze in protest of oppression by the existing government and police force. The witnesses and friends of the vendor told his tale through social media, which grabbed the attention of Arabs around the world. When the news of this incident broke, it shook the world that. It was shocking to learn of the extent of the vendor’s commitment to his cause. The attention of international bodies forced the government into handling similar situations with extreme care in future to avoid the wrong kind of attention to Tunisia’s reputation (Eltantawy & Wiest, 2011). This act of protest inspired individuals in other places to apply pressure on the Tunisian government to effect positive change, thus starting a revolution bot within Tunisia and in other countries suffering from corrupt leadership. Similar events were witnessed in Russia with the upsurge of social media and its use to shine a light on social injustice and revolutions. In late 2011 after hotly contested elections, a survey revealed that disgruntled nationalists took to social media to collect presentable evidence and organize protests (White & McAllister 2014). Facebook was used as an effective avenue to share their propaganda material in form o...