Tag: STATEDEPARTMENT

When the Middle East erupted in revolution earlier this year, many regimes responded to the upheaval by ramping up their online censorship efforts. And, according to the Wall Street Journal, a lot of them had help from American software companies. Throughout the region, governments have been using technologies and tools developed by U.S. firms to clamp down on the Web. McAfee reportedly ...

The Obama administration is expected to introduce a new policy on Internet freedom today, following weeks of Web-fueled protests in the Middle East. The policy has reportedly been in the works for about a year, but recent events in Tunisia and Egypt have added a new sense of urgency to the issue as the U.S. struggles to balance old alliances in the Middle East with a new wave of reform-driven ...

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 ...

NBC News is reporting that federal investigators have been unable to find any evidence connecting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with Army Pfc. Bradley Manning -- the man widely accused of handing over classified military documents to the whistleblowing organization. Pentagon sources say the government has proof that Manning downloaded thousands of files from his computer, and gave them to an ...

The U.S. State Department seems to be embracing social media in a big way. While the American diplomatic agency isn't new to services like Twitter and Facebook, it has markedly stepped up its presence in recent weeks. Spokespeople from within the department have started directly addressing residents of foreign countries and leaders via Twitter to refute rumors and clarify U.S. policy. More ...

While most other American officials struggle to substantially advance diplomatic relations with North Korea, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has decided to take a slightly different approach to cracking the North Korean nut: Twitter. As the New York Times reports, Crowley recently posted a series of pointed tweets about the eternally enigmatic Pyongyang regime, which only recently ...

Share Over the course of the past few years, Alec J. Ross and Jared Cohen, two 20-something members of the U.S. State Department, have become quasi-celebrities in diplomatic circles, primarily because of their push to spread social networking technology to the farthest corners of the world. Throughout their global technological crusade, both Ross and Cohen have been tirelessly tweeting about ...

As aid pours from the coffers of international organizations and individuals, and into the earthquake-ravaged island of Haiti, some scumbag scammers are reportedly looking to take advantage of these donors, hoping to make a parasitic buck off of the tragedy. As FOX News reports, the devastating aftermath of Tuesday's massive quake has seen not only a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, but ...

Despite new leadership from a relatively tech-savvy president, some government offices still seem a little slow to adopt popular technology. While the State Department might have promoted and encouraged Iranian Twitter activity, the Department is nevertheless lagging behind in other Web areas. In a town hall meeting yesterday, a new member of the State Department, which uses Internet Explorer as ...