Wednesday
Aug152012
Iran Feature: Facebook and the Earthquakes (Kaviani)
Back in 2009, at the height of mass protests that followed Iran's disputed presidential election, Facebook emerged as an important tool for protesters to share news and information. It had such an impact that the authorities even branded Facebook a weapon in a "soft war" against the Islamic republic.
As a result, users in Iran have to jump through hoops to access the social-media website today. Unbowed, they go through the hassle of going through proxy servers to circumvent the regime's efforts to block Facebook.
And this week, for those suffering from the earthquakes that struck northwestern Iran, their unsanctioned efforts were life-saving.