Twitter and the fight for Democracy

As most people reading this probably know, Twitter is the latest and greatest site in social networking. Its primary purpose has always seemed to me to be a place for individuals with an over-inflated sense of self-importance to inform their followers about trivial information like what kind of cereal they just ate for breakfast. This new outlet of narcissistic expression is especially important for celebrities, and especially the more annoying ones whom we'd just assume never hear about at all and can't really say why they are famous in the first place (i.e Ashton Kutcher, Paris, Perez, ect.) But Twitter is not without its worthwhile uses. One such use was quickly distributing information about the spread of the H1N1 "Swine" flu between health officials across the country. But presently, Twitter is finding a brand new and worthwhile place on the world stage.

While it received only limited mention in the American news, Iran held presidential elections on June 12. The two major candidates were the holocaust denying incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the popular challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. The political landscape in Iran is of course much different than it is in the US. In Iran The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a religious leader who is appointed by other religious leaders, wields power superior to the president or any other democratically elected official. The President of Iran is nonetheless the highest official elected directly by popular vote, the expression of the will of the people.

The night of the election came, the polls closed, and mere hours later the results were announced and immediately certified. In spite of massive demonstrations of support for Mousavi, and flying in the face of all polling data, Ahmadinejad was proclaimed to have won in a land-slide victory. But the more data that has been released concerning the voting results, the more obvious and blatant the fraud and irregularities reflected in these results has become.

Starting on the night of the election and escalating since, the Iranian government has attempted to lock down information and communications in order to silence dissent. Foreign reporters have been removed, TV signals disrupted, internet sites have been blocked, and cell phone communication and text messaging have been disrupted. But thanks to the internet, and especially to Twitter, the government has been unable to control the flow of information and prevent the truth from coming out. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to protest the fixed election results, some of them being detained, beaten, and in a few cases killed by opposition militias. But they continue to protest, communicating with the outside world with sites like YouTube, and coordinating their actions and intelligence by using the internet, especially Twitter.

You can read more about these events as they are unfolding here:
BBC News Middle East (US News outlets don't have much worthwhile to say about this so far)
The Daily Dish
Wikipedia: Iranian President Election 2009
And of course on Twitter
Here is more about how to search Twitter for info about the Iran Election

This is an issue worth drawing attention to and keeping track of. While these results would not have necessarily made Iran and the US great buddies, the fraud and government crackdown that is unfolding is clearly a step in the wrong direction away from whatever semblance of democracy their once was. Many Iranians are risking their freedom and their lives to fight for the principle that their vote should count and their voice be heard. The Iranian government doesn't want for you to be able to hear about it or whatever desperate and violent means they are using to stop it.