Iran Protests via Twitter, CNN Is Silent

by Leila Brillson on June 15, 2009 at 06:40 PM

Twitter, Facebook, live-blogging: they're no longer just social media networks. Instead, they're becoming legitimate sources of news information where ordinary people can not only participate in the reportage of news stories, but make headlines as well.

On June 13th, incumbent Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated Mir Hossein Mousavi in a landslide victory characterized voting irregularities and claims of fraud. The controversial reelection of the controversial Ahmadinejad has allegedly, and unsurprisingly, sparked nationwide protests and large-scale reports of cellular and Internet service failures.

Iranians have taken to Twitter to chronicle the situation from inside the country, but any sort of consistent, large-scale news report has been difficult to come by. ReadWriteWeb wrote, "Hours after Iranian police began clashing with tens of thousands of people in the street, the top story on CNN.com remains peoples' confusion about the switch from analog TV signals." Slashdot notes that, "Twitter is providing better coverage than CNN at the moment." With hash tags rapidly being coined (from "#CNNFail" to "#IranElection"), videos being posted to YouTube, and Iranians flooding Reddit, the news is surfacing, however spottily. The Iranian government blocked both Facebook and text-messaging on Saturday, forcing Iranians to use hard-to-trace Web services like GoogleTalk and Twitter.

What has become remarkably clear here is that, even with strong government regulation, Web services allow for dissident Iranian voices. As a result, the world has come to realize that many of Iran's citizens yearn for free elections, contrary to what their leaders would have us believe. This morning, CNN finally broke its radio silence with a story called "Tear gas and Twitter." The lag may be, as the New York Times suggests, a crucial moment, not only for Iranians, but for Web users, as well. Real-time, democratically produced live-blogging is quickly becoming a valid alternative to large-scale, "legitimate" news outlets. [From: ReadWriteWeb, via NYTimes.com]

Tags: cnn, iran, live blog, live blogging, LiveBlog, LiveBlogging, news, politics, social networking, SocialNetworking, top, twitter

Comments

upkudo#aol.comJun 15th 2009 9:33PM

Neutral

cnn is the totalatarian controlled proaganda wing of the democrat party. it is intruiging that they would run a radio silence campaign about an attempt at true democracy in iran. wonder what cnn's hidden agenda is

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JonathanJun 16th 2009 5:57AM

Neutral

"Real-time, democratically produced live-blogging is quickly becoming a valid alternative to large-scale, "legitimate" news outlets."

Except that some idiot typing whatever he wants can never be an alternative to legitimate news. It's not vetted, doesn't validate sources, follows no code of journalistic ethics. This article is written as if posting first is all that matters. I believe that sort of thinking is dangerous.

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JessicaJun 16th 2009 4:07PM

Neutral

This article fails to point out that texts and twitter updates arent exactly "real" news...it may be truthful, and it might not be. We have no way of knowing and it would be irresponsible of CNN or any reputible news outlet to report on something posted on Twitter - without offering the disclaimer that it might not be true.

In case you hadn't heard, CNN didnt shut themselves down - IRAN DID. Not just CNN but all news outlets are barred from leaving their hotel rooms or offices. They can not show ANY footage (live or otherwise) from Iran...

Kind of limits what you can report on if you can't leave your room to see what's going on (let alone how do you film something you can't see with your own eyes).

Give me a break, while the twitter feeds are great...it's not replacing "real news"...just offering us a great insight while the REAL news is shut down.

When Iran figures out how to block Twitter, Facebook, ect...we'll hear nothing but crickets...and then, i guess we'd have to assume things are fine and back to normal in leiu of no information. (seriously, whoever wrote this cannot call themselves a journalist, anymore than some Iranian posting on Twitter)

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kathyrazin2003Jun 16th 2009 4:41PM

Neutral

Thank to twitter and facebook which help the voice of oppressed and injured iranian people to be heard in the world. If the result of Iran's election would really fair and legitimate, why should government of Iran ban all the foreign jornalists from covering rallies and all the news in Iran? why should they block all ways of communications inside the country? Isn't that enough to prove that the result of the election is absolutely corrupt? It's a common sence people!!!!!

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kathyrazin2003Jun 16th 2009 4:45PM

Neutral

Thank to twitter and facebook which help the voice of oppressed and
injured iranian people to be heard in the world. If the result of
Iran's election would really fair and legitimate, why should
government of Iran ban all the foreign journalists from covering
rallies and all the reall news in Iran? why should they block all ways of
communications inside the country? Isn't that enough to prove that
the result of the election is absolutely corrupt? It's a common sense!!!

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