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well my concern is that it could be used as propaganda inside Iran trying to link the protests to foreign powers. but for domestic transparancy, to your point,

by siavosh 17y ago

well my concern is that it could be used as propaganda inside Iran trying to link the protests to foreign powers. but for domestic transparancy, to your point, is great.

jm4 17y ago
I would presume that since the announcement came straight from the State Department any potential consequences of such an announcement were considered. I also think any propaganda value the announcement may have is negligible if there is any value at all. If they're going to claim a link between the protests and a foreign power I would think they'd have to come up with something a little more substantial than the State Department asking Twitter to postpone maintenance. Could you imagine some diplomat going to the U.N. with such a thin story? I can't. In fact, it would probably be even more effective to claim foreign involvement without any evidence at all. If they make the case using the Twitter story many people would quickly dismiss it as a weak theory. If they, instead, make bold claims and then are unable to substantiate them due to national security reasons it can't be disputed.
- netsp 17y ago
  It wouldn't be of much value in a vacuum. But Iranian-US dynamic didn't start this week. 'The US is manipulating Iranians,' is a storyline that Iranians would be open to. It's a pre-existing fear.
  - bint 17y ago
    Yep, there's obviously a lot going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. The people really behind the Twitter protests is just one part of it. http://kheirkhah.ir/media/Image/Weblog%202/Keyhan-ehtics.jpg http://kheirkhah.ir/media/Image/Weblog%202/Keyhan-ehtics.jpg
philwelch 17y ago
Yes, but "we're trying to shut down all means of communication within and out of Iran, but those damned Americans are trying to keep Twitter up" is a hard propaganda message to pull off.
- netsp 17y ago
  Twitter is being used by foreign powers to spread misinformation & seed malcontent. Twitter is taking orders from the United States State Department about what it should & shouldn't do in Iran.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]

by siavosh 17y ago

well my concern is that it could be used as propaganda inside Iran trying to link the protests to foreign powers. but for domestic transparancy, to your point, is great.

jm4 17y ago

I would presume that since the announcement came straight from the State Department any potential consequences of such an announcement were considered. I also think any propaganda value the announcement may have is negligible if there is any value at all. If they're going to claim a link between the protests and a foreign power I would think they'd have to come up with something a little more substantial than the State Department asking Twitter to postpone maintenance. Could you imagine some diplomat going to the U.N. with such a thin story? I can't. In fact, it would probably be even more effective to claim foreign involvement without any evidence at all. If they make the case using the Twitter story many people would quickly dismiss it as a weak theory. If they, instead, make bold claims and then are unable to substantiate them due to national security reasons it can't be disputed.

netsp 17y ago
It wouldn't be of much value in a vacuum. But Iranian-US dynamic didn't start this week. 'The US is manipulating Iranians,' is a storyline that Iranians would be open to. It's a pre-existing fear.
- bint 17y ago
  Yep, there's obviously a lot going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. The people really behind the Twitter protests is just one part of it. http://kheirkhah.ir/media/Image/Weblog%202/Keyhan-ehtics.jpg http://kheirkhah.ir/media/Image/Weblog%202/Keyhan-ehtics.jpg

philwelch 17y ago

Yes, but "we're trying to shut down all means of communication within and out of Iran, but those damned Americans are trying to keep Twitter up" is a hard propaganda message to pull off.

netsp 17y ago
Twitter is being used by foreign powers to spread misinformation & seed malcontent. Twitter is taking orders from the United States State Department about what it should & shouldn't do in Iran.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]