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U.S. State Department Now Tweeting in Arabic

by Amar Toor on February 10, 2011 at 09:40 AM

screenshot of @usabilaraby
The already Twitter-savvy U.S. State Department is now tweeting in Arabic. A few days ago, the Department launched a new feed, @USAbilAraby, devoted exclusively to Arabic-speaking audiences. The account describes itself as the "US Department of State Arabic Media Hub," and, as of this morning, has already accumulated over 500 followers.

According to the Washington Post, the State Department opted to tweet in Modern Standard Arabic, which is noticeably more formal than the form in which younger social media users are communicating. Linguistics aside, the U.S. seems determined to get involved in the Middle East social networking conversation -- especially after recent events in Tunisia and Egypt. It's a sentiment that the State Department made clear in one of its very first Arabic tweets: "The US foreign ministry has recognized the historic role of social media in the Arab world and we want to be part of your conversations."

Tags: arabic, egypt, foreign policy, ForeignPolicy, government, language, middle east, MiddleEast, politics, social media, SocialMedia, SocialNetworking, State Department, StateDepartment, top, Tunisia, twitter, Web

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