iran election

Iran Election

Social media and democracy

June 12: The election

• Incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad runs against three challengers, including Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

• On June 13, the state-run news agency announces Ahmadinejad has won the election with 63% of the vote; Mousavi had 33%.

• Doubts about the vote were raised immediately across the globe.

• Mousavi, whose supporters include many young people, pledges he won't give up.

#iranelection on Twitter: June 12

Flickr: Voting photos

Flickr: Documenting the voting process

June 13 and 14: Protests begin

Weekend news coverage: #cnnfail

Twitter users called for CNN to cover the Iran election and ensuing protests.Hashtag use continues: di31815 #CNNFail: Is there a systemic problem? Why can't CNN keep up with world events? How can viewers help CNN into the 21st century? spencersoloway #CNNfail Honduras burns while the world's leaders throw their support behind a thug but CNN says "hey, didjya' hear Michael Jackson died?!"  

From Twitter to Flickr (a photoset)

YouTube: Protest videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1vJ0d0Q8Q

June 15-18: A week of turmoil

• Mousavi makes first public appearance • Guardian Council begins partial recount• Protests worldwide • Green spreads as protest color• State Dept. requests Twitter move downtime• Facebook releases Farsi translation

June 19-21: Violence escalates

YouTube: Protest video and a poemhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KFubPVok7A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKUZuv6_bus

Neda Soltani

Afterward

• Results of recount were June 29; Ahmadinejad declared the winner, despite Mousavi's claim that 14 million ballots were not counted

• Protests continue, along with call for new vote• "If you plan to fight Iran and destabilize it, you have

to know that instability in Iran would lead to flux in the entire region and world" -Iranian vice president, quoted in state-run news agency

Mashable's takeaways

Social media has been playing 3 very important roles: 1. It has helped Iranians communicate with each other.2. It has helped Iranians communicate with the outside world.3. It has helped the rest of the world communicate with both Iranians and others who sympathize with the protesters.

Mary's takeaways

• Social media, with emphasis on mobile and real time, is a tool of democracy

• Increased/sustained interest in world news• News sites must pay attention to talk surrounding

their organizations and play offense• Once you're in social media, you can't ignore it• You need a different filter with state-run news

agencies

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mary.hartney@baltsun.com