It is now a decade since the Arab Spring, a period of upheaval and turmoil that continues to have repercussions across the region.Īlthough its importance has arguably been overstated, social media played an important role in contributing to the organisation of protests and enabling outside journalists to get a sense of what was happening on the ground.Īs someone who has been tracking this scene in a series of annual reports since 2012, here are ten ways that social media has changed in the Middle East in the decade since the Arab Spring.įacebook falls out of fashion (but not everywhere)Īt the time, the biggest social network in the world was seen as a key player in the Egyptian revolution, as well as other regime changes in North Africa. Chambers Professor in Journalism at the University of Oregon, a fellow of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, an honorary research fellow at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies, and a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA)
Protesters in Aden, Al Mansoora during the Arab Spring 2011 calling for the secession of South Yemen from the North Credit: AlMahra under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Internationalĭamian Radcliffe is the Carolyn S.