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Twitter was instrumental in the Arab Spring[0]. Many organize and plan protests on there, trying to recreate that initial success. Twitter is a mirror of the re

Twitter was instrumental in the Arab Spring[0]. Many organize and plan protests on there, trying to recreate that initial success. Twitter is a mirror of the real world, albeit a very bad one. People who say 'Twitter is just text' have obviously never watched whole 30-minutes news article videos on Twitter, so it's not 'just text', it's full of rich media. The Russia-Ukraine war is all over the platform, for better or worse. It annoys me that people are resorting to disaster tourism, popcorn in their hands, whilst watching the world burn. Stop being an armchair activist, and get out there and make a dent whilst you still can. A small retweet of something you think is important means nothing in the grand scheme of things. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_and_the_Arab_Spring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_and_the_Arab_Spri...

bryanrasmussen 4y ago
Is Twitter today the same Twitter than enabled the Arab Spring though?
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  Arguably yes. Twitter was one of the main tools used by the organizers of the BLM Summer of Love in 2020, and the MAGA coup on Jan 6.
  - LAC-Tech 4y ago
    BLM Summer of Love in 2020 MAGA coup on Jan 6 Do you really need to use such insanely partisan terminology? It's so blatant I can't tell if it was made tongue-in-cheek or not.
    - cantSpellSober 4y ago
      Correct, a violent uprising against the government is an "insurrection." It's not a "coup" if it fails.
      - LAC-Tech 4y ago
        They had no organisation, clear goal, or strategy. Real attempted coups - or "uprisings" if you're sympathetic - are much different. They involve much larger and more organised masses of people, police being neutralised (either they support the coup, or asked to stand down, or pro-coup paramilitaries have rendered them a non-issue) and close coordination with the leader they are attempting to install. Aid by a more powerful outside force is also very, very common. So I think attempted coup is a very grandiose term for a bunch of amateurs who were allowed to wander in, posed for photos, stole a podium, and put their feet on a desk. They didn't have the support of police, military, civil service, media, the government, or any foreign government.
        cantSpellSober 4y ago
        I didn't call it an attempted coup. I agree, once they beat enough law enforcement officers with their weapons and smashed their way into the rotunda, there's even a video where one of them says "what now?" and they start smoking weed. Planning wasn't their strong point. But none of the things you listed are required to be a coup. I don't think you understand: > coups - or "uprisings" if you're sympathetic These are not synonymous. Jan 6 was a violent "uprising" whether you're sympathetic or not. The simple fact that they accomplished nothing means it wasn't a coup.
        LAC-Tech 4y ago
        I'm just pointing out differing terms for the same thing. If a media outlet supports a coup or an attempted coup, they will tend to call it an "uprising", "revolution" or similar. "Coups" are used when the coverage is negative. Likewise, uprisings and revolutions get rid of "regimes", while coups overthrow "democratically elected governments". Exactly how democratic either the aforementioned "regime" or "elected government" actually is doesn't seem to factor into things.
        cantSpellSober 4y ago
        > I'm just pointing out differing terms for the same thing You don't understand that they aren't the same thing. Jan 6 was a violent uprising, an insurrection, no matter who you support. It was not a coup (mostly because it achieved nothing).
    - andrewflnr 4y ago
      It strikes me more as cynical than partisan, FWIW.
    - pclmulqdq 4y ago
      Yes. Both groups deserve mockery for their insane behavior. If you didn't know, the "Summer of Love" is a mocking name for the BLM riots because of the incredible amount of violence at those protests. The MAGA coup is a tongue-in-cheek way to refer to the idiots running through the capital thinking they could stop an election.
      - probbbly 4y ago
        > the idiots running through the capital [sic] The incredible amount of violence on Jan 6 wasn't "insane?"
        pclmulqdq 4y ago
        As far as I know, only MAGA morons were killed in the protests, and largely got what they deserved. There was some fake news about a police officer getting killed with a fire extinguisher, but it turned out that it was a death from natural causes and there was no fire extinguisher attack at all. Most of the people arrested for entering the capital had been waved in by police holding the doors open, and the ones who didn't plead guilty are largely getting acquitted of trespassing charges. As far as I know, almost nobody arrested for Jan 6 had an assault or battery charge, despite how zealous the prosecution of those people has been.
        LAC-Tech 4y ago
        You deserve to get killed for protesting. Edgy stuff.
      - seadan83 4y ago
        BLM did not riot in seattle. First hand can attest to that. There were hooligans who did on the first night, after the BLM protest. They were put down violently by the police, who continued to be violent against peaceful protestors n the following days until the east precinct was vacated. The police leaving restored peace. A few days later the chop finally became dangerous at night. Still, the SPD were actively antagonists, protestors lost eyes, many other injuries from spd were reported and over 100 incidents of reported and confirmed police brutality in just a few days. The fact it was peaceful as soon as the police left the east precinct says it all
  - cbozeman 4y ago
    - cantSpellSober 4y ago
      - Banana699 4y ago
        Your dislike for the source doesn't mean the information is inaccurate.
        cantSpellSober 4y ago
        I agree, the majority of the protests were peaceful https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-george-floyd-protests-in-los-angeles-differ-from-1992-riots-11591263005 https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-george-floyd-protests-in-lo... Even though National Review is a heavily biased, that's still true
        Banana699 4y ago
        You need to learn how statistics work, 'majority' is not just a filler word we use when want to make a point.
        cantSpellSober 4y ago
    - pclmulqdq 4y ago
      I experienced the NYC BLM protests and riots from a bit of a distance. Bricks were thrown through windows, and several stores were looted. It wasn't a violent riot every day, often just an orderly protest march, but there were riots.
sam_lowry_ 4y ago
> The Russia-Ukraine war is all over the platform, Original content is mostly on Telegram.
saurik 4y ago
Your reference does not agree with your assertion ;P.
- imbnwa 4y ago
  "Is debated" is good enough if people take the existence of the link as evidence enough
LAC-Tech 4y ago
The article you quote says 61,000 people died in the Arab Spring. Libyas second civil war just recently concluded and the Syrian civil war is ongoing. I'm having a lot of difficulty regarding this as a positive.
frankosaurus 4y ago
Zeynep Tufekci's book Twitter and Tear Gas talks about this. In Tunisia circa 2010, Twitter was part of the new tactics used by social movements and enabled their early success. Establishment groups weren't ready for it and in some ways ignorant of the new technology. She argues that those in power have since evolved their tactics to counteract these innovations so they're no longer as effective. For example, in countries where mass censorship is not possible, establishments have adopted techniques of information overload and discrediting/questioning everything to reduce the effectiveness of social movements.
- throw_m239339 4y ago
  > She argues that those in power have since evolved their tactics to counteract these innovations so they're no longer as effective. Not only governments have caught up but they successfully cracked down on these protesters using their Twitter user history against them, especially in Turkey during the great political purge after the failed (fake) coup attempt.
- seadan83 4y ago
  This, "we don't have to be right, just loud". Personally I feel like this is the environment that spawned the tea party. I recall McCain saying if Obama was elected then we would certainly see another 9/11 attack. I think this is where the discourse is poisoned. Nobody has to ever say they were wrong anymore #lookSquirrel & retweet
jmyeet 4y ago
> ... never watched whole 30-minutes news article videos on Twitter, I don't think anyone has watched any 30 minute video on Twitter because I've yet to see a Twitter video go more than about 10 seconds without buffering. I'm honestly shocked at just how bad Twitter is at serving video. For a company that size and for as important as video is, it's absolutely inexcusable.
- fferen 4y ago
  +1, Full screen video works about 10% of the time on my phone.
Dma54rhs 4y ago
Russisn Ukraine war online propaganda front is on Telegram. On Twitter you have westerners charging their flags and what not.
ForHackernews 4y ago
> Twitter was instrumental in the Arab Spring It absolutely was not, and only twitter-humping westerners would have you thinking that it was. No, a wikipedia article is not evidence. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/27/the-social-media-myth-about-the-arab-spring https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/27/the-social-medi... https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428596-400-was-the-arab-spring-really-a-facebook-revolution/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428596-400-was-the-... https://phys.org/news/2013-01-social-media-aided-didnt-arab.html https://phys.org/news/2013-01-social-media-aided-didnt-arab....
skybrian 4y ago
It's true that most of us are just watching the war in Ukraine, and I think it's important to keep that in perspective; our role is that of the audience. Talking among ourselves doesn't do much but it's not harmful either. But it seems like the geolocation folks are actually participating in the war? Not to mention the donations and helping the refugees. (More of that in Europe.)

bryanrasmussen 4y ago

Is Twitter today the same Twitter than enabled the Arab Spring though?

pclmulqdq 4y ago
Arguably yes. Twitter was one of the main tools used by the organizers of the BLM Summer of Love in 2020, and the MAGA coup on Jan 6.
- LAC-Tech 4y ago
  BLM Summer of Love in 2020 MAGA coup on Jan 6 Do you really need to use such insanely partisan terminology? It's so blatant I can't tell if it was made tongue-in-cheek or not.
  - cantSpellSober 4y ago
    Correct, a violent uprising against the government is an "insurrection." It's not a "coup" if it fails.
    - LAC-Tech 4y ago
      They had no organisation, clear goal, or strategy. Real attempted coups - or "uprisings" if you're sympathetic - are much different. They involve much larger and more organised masses of people, police being neutralised (either they support the coup, or asked to stand down, or pro-coup paramilitaries have rendered them a non-issue) and close coordination with the leader they are attempting to install. Aid by a more powerful outside force is also very, very common. So I think attempted coup is a very grandiose term for a bunch of amateurs who were allowed to wander in, posed for photos, stole a podium, and put their feet on a desk. They didn't have the support of police, military, civil service, media, the government, or any foreign government.
      - cantSpellSober 4y ago
        I didn't call it an attempted coup. I agree, once they beat enough law enforcement officers with their weapons and smashed their way into the rotunda, there's even a video where one of them says "what now?" and they start smoking weed. Planning wasn't their strong point. But none of the things you listed are required to be a coup. I don't think you understand: > coups - or "uprisings" if you're sympathetic These are not synonymous. Jan 6 was a violent "uprising" whether you're sympathetic or not. The simple fact that they accomplished nothing means it wasn't a coup.
        LAC-Tech 4y ago
        I'm just pointing out differing terms for the same thing. If a media outlet supports a coup or an attempted coup, they will tend to call it an "uprising", "revolution" or similar. "Coups" are used when the coverage is negative. Likewise, uprisings and revolutions get rid of "regimes", while coups overthrow "democratically elected governments". Exactly how democratic either the aforementioned "regime" or "elected government" actually is doesn't seem to factor into things.
        cantSpellSober 4y ago
        > I'm just pointing out differing terms for the same thing You don't understand that they aren't the same thing. Jan 6 was a violent uprising, an insurrection, no matter who you support. It was not a coup (mostly because it achieved nothing).
  - andrewflnr 4y ago
    It strikes me more as cynical than partisan, FWIW.
  - pclmulqdq 4y ago
    Yes. Both groups deserve mockery for their insane behavior. If you didn't know, the "Summer of Love" is a mocking name for the BLM riots because of the incredible amount of violence at those protests. The MAGA coup is a tongue-in-cheek way to refer to the idiots running through the capital thinking they could stop an election.
    - probbbly 4y ago
      > the idiots running through the capital [sic] The incredible amount of violence on Jan 6 wasn't "insane?"
      - pclmulqdq 4y ago
        As far as I know, only MAGA morons were killed in the protests, and largely got what they deserved. There was some fake news about a police officer getting killed with a fire extinguisher, but it turned out that it was a death from natural causes and there was no fire extinguisher attack at all. Most of the people arrested for entering the capital had been waved in by police holding the doors open, and the ones who didn't plead guilty are largely getting acquitted of trespassing charges. As far as I know, almost nobody arrested for Jan 6 had an assault or battery charge, despite how zealous the prosecution of those people has been.
        LAC-Tech 4y ago
        You deserve to get killed for protesting. Edgy stuff.
    - seadan83 4y ago
      BLM did not riot in seattle. First hand can attest to that. There were hooligans who did on the first night, after the BLM protest. They were put down violently by the police, who continued to be violent against peaceful protestors n the following days until the east precinct was vacated. The police leaving restored peace. A few days later the chop finally became dangerous at night. Still, the SPD were actively antagonists, protestors lost eyes, many other injuries from spd were reported and over 100 incidents of reported and confirmed police brutality in just a few days. The fact it was peaceful as soon as the police left the east precinct says it all
- cbozeman 4y ago
  - cantSpellSober 4y ago
    - Banana699 4y ago
      Your dislike for the source doesn't mean the information is inaccurate.
      - cantSpellSober 4y ago
        I agree, the majority of the protests were peaceful https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-george-floyd-protests-in-los-angeles-differ-from-1992-riots-11591263005 https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-george-floyd-protests-in-lo... Even though National Review is a heavily biased, that's still true
        Banana699 4y ago
        You need to learn how statistics work, 'majority' is not just a filler word we use when want to make a point.
        cantSpellSober 4y ago
  - pclmulqdq 4y ago
    I experienced the NYC BLM protests and riots from a bit of a distance. Bricks were thrown through windows, and several stores were looted. It wasn't a violent riot every day, often just an orderly protest march, but there were riots.

sam_lowry_ 4y ago

> The Russia-Ukraine war is all over the platform, Original content is mostly on Telegram.

saurik 4y ago

Your reference does not agree with your assertion ;P.

imbnwa 4y ago
"Is debated" is good enough if people take the existence of the link as evidence enough

LAC-Tech 4y ago

The article you quote says 61,000 people died in the Arab Spring. Libyas second civil war just recently concluded and the Syrian civil war is ongoing. I'm having a lot of difficulty regarding this as a positive.

frankosaurus 4y ago

Zeynep Tufekci's book Twitter and Tear Gas talks about this. In Tunisia circa 2010, Twitter was part of the new tactics used by social movements and enabled their early success. Establishment groups weren't ready for it and in some ways ignorant of the new technology. She argues that those in power have since evolved their tactics to counteract these innovations so they're no longer as effective. For example, in countries where mass censorship is not possible, establishments have adopted techniques of information overload and discrediting/questioning everything to reduce the effectiveness of social movements.

throw_m239339 4y ago
> She argues that those in power have since evolved their tactics to counteract these innovations so they're no longer as effective. Not only governments have caught up but they successfully cracked down on these protesters using their Twitter user history against them, especially in Turkey during the great political purge after the failed (fake) coup attempt.
seadan83 4y ago
This, "we don't have to be right, just loud". Personally I feel like this is the environment that spawned the tea party. I recall McCain saying if Obama was elected then we would certainly see another 9/11 attack. I think this is where the discourse is poisoned. Nobody has to ever say they were wrong anymore #lookSquirrel & retweet

jmyeet 4y ago

> ... never watched whole 30-minutes news article videos on Twitter, I don't think anyone has watched any 30 minute video on Twitter because I've yet to see a Twitter video go more than about 10 seconds without buffering. I'm honestly shocked at just how bad Twitter is at serving video. For a company that size and for as important as video is, it's absolutely inexcusable.

fferen 4y ago
+1, Full screen video works about 10% of the time on my phone.

Dma54rhs 4y ago

Russisn Ukraine war online propaganda front is on Telegram. On Twitter you have westerners charging their flags and what not.

ForHackernews 4y ago

> Twitter was instrumental in the Arab Spring It absolutely was not, and only twitter-humping westerners would have you thinking that it was. No, a wikipedia article is not evidence. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/27/the-social-media-myth-about-the-arab-spring https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/27/the-social-medi... https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428596-400-was-the-arab-spring-really-a-facebook-revolution/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428596-400-was-the-... https://phys.org/news/2013-01-social-media-aided-didnt-arab.html https://phys.org/news/2013-01-social-media-aided-didnt-arab....

skybrian 4y ago

It's true that most of us are just watching the war in Ukraine, and I think it's important to keep that in perspective; our role is that of the audience. Talking among ourselves doesn't do much but it's not harmful either. But it seems like the geolocation folks are actually participating in the war? Not to mention the donations and helping the refugees. (More of that in Europe.)