{"id":1433,"date":"2011-02-07T11:31:02","date_gmt":"2011-02-07T11:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2011\/02\/in-the-news-facebook-and-youtube-fuel-egyptian-protests.html"},"modified":"2011-02-07T11:31:02","modified_gmt":"2011-02-07T11:31:02","slug":"in-the-news-facebook-and-youtube-fuel-egyptian-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/02\/in-the-news-facebook-and-youtube-fuel-egyptian-protests.html","title":{"rendered":"In the News: Facebook and YouTube Fuel Egyptian Protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Times<\/i> has run a fascinating story on the impact of Facebook and YouTube on the protests in Egypt: “Movement Began With Outrage and a Facebook Page That Gave It an Outlet.” <\/a><\/p>\n

According to this story, last June, an Egyptian named Khaled Said was beaten to death by two Egyptian police officers. Said “was killed because the local police believed he had shot a video showing officers with illegal drugs.” This was not an unusual occurrence in Egypt. But the unusual part happened when an anonymous human rights activist put up a Facebook page<\/a> in honor of Said. It included photos of his badly beaten body in the morgue. YouTube videos<\/a> showed pictures of Said during his life, smiling with his family, calling for the end of violence and promising never to stop seeking what’s right. <\/p>\n

The result of these online protests was astounding, with hundreds of thousands of Egyptians being summoned to action. Here’s an excerpt from the Times<\/i> article:<\/p>\n

\n

\nBut Mr. Said’s death may be the starkest example yet of the special
\npower of social networking tools like Facebook even — or especially — in
\na police state. The Facebook page set up around his death offered
\nEgyptians a rare forum to bond over their outrage about government
\nabuses. <\/p>\n

\n“Prior to the murder of Khaled Said, there were blogs and YouTube videos
\nthat existed about police torture, but there wasn’t a strong community
\naround them,” said Jillian C. York, the project coordinator for the
\nOpenNet Initiative of the Berkman Center for the Internet and Society at
\nHarvard University. “This case changed that.” <\/p>\n

\nWhile it is almost impossible to isolate the impact of social media
\ntools from the general swirl of events that set off the popular
\nuprisings across the Middle East, there is little doubt that they
\nprovided a new means for ordinary people to connect with human rights
\nadvocates trying to amass support against police abuse, torture and the
\nMubarak government’s permanent emergency laws allowing people to be
\njailed without charges.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If comes as no surprise that the Egyptian government turned off the Internet before too long, though protesters continue to find ways to access it. <\/p>\n

We hear much these days about the transforming power of the Internet, especially the social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The case of the Egyptian protests provides a striking example. <\/p>\n

But are there risks? Is it time to celebrate the liberating might of the Internet? Or is there a downside to all of this? More about that later. For now, what do you think? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Times has run a fascinating story on the impact of Facebook and YouTube on the protests in Egypt: “Movement Began With Outrage and a Facebook Page That Gave It an Outlet.” According to this story, last June, an Egyptian named Khaled Said was beaten to death by two Egyptian police officers. Said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[202,81,128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news","category-internet","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nIn the News: Facebook and YouTube Fuel Egyptian Protests - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/02\/in-the-news-facebook-and-youtube-fuel-egyptian-protests.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In the News: Facebook and YouTube Fuel Egyptian Protests - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Times has run a fascinating story on the impact of Facebook and YouTube on the protests in Egypt: “Movement Began With Outrage and a Facebook Page That Gave It an Outlet.” According to this story, last June, an Egyptian named Khaled Said was beaten to death by two Egyptian police officers. Said…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2011\/02\/in-the-news-facebook-and-youtube-fuel-egyptian-protests.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-02-07T11:31:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In the News: Facebook and YouTube Fuel Egyptian Protests - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}