Stories about Digital Activism from February, 2011
Haiti: Preventable Suffering
“The earthquake did not kill people. Bad buildings killed people. Lack of medical care killed people. Lack of infrastructure killed people. Lack of caring government officials kill[s] people”: Dying in...
Cuba: Damas de Blanco Attacked
Bloggers discuss the latest crackdown on Cuban dissidents.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Death Penalty
“Faced with a major problem with serious crime in Trinidad & Tobago, the current government is ( rather predictably) pushing for the reimplementation of the death penalty”: Globewriter is heartened...
Cuba: The Day Zapata Died
Iván's File Cabinet remembers the day that hunger striker and prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo died.
Turks & Caicos, Barbados: Disappearing Blog
The tcipost blog “disappeared overnight without notice”; Barbados Free Press comes to the rescue.
Jamaica: Nothing for the Youth?
“We too busy having dramatic, Days-of-our-lives type enquiries to stop for a minute and realise that this year, more than any other year to date, is all about us. It's...
Argentina: Hackathons and Budget Transparency in Bahía Blanca
As we have witnessed in the last month, there are moments in civic life that drive citizens to change and challenge institutions, to create solutions and to express their concerns...
Libya: “The only thing we want is our freedom” (Audio)
Sunday, February 27 brought another day of bloodshed in Libya, as an uprising against Colonel Muammar Al Gaddafi's 40-year rule continued into the 11th day. Phone calls with Libyans that have been shared online and translated, show that citizens are still struggling with even basic security.
Libya: Fear and Chaos at Tripoli Airport
Fear, chaos, hysteria and despair - all these words have been used to describe Libyan capital Tripoli's airport over the past few days. Since uprisings began against the country's leader Colonel Muammar Al Gaddafi on the night of February 16, 2011 (#Feb17), Libya has been in a state of uncertainty.
China: 50 Cent Party's Fake Retweet
Several Chinese online activists have noticed that the 50 Cent Party has adopted a new tactic in creating fake retweets of prominent online opinion leaders. China Media Project has a...
Côte d’Ivoire: Twitter Campaign for Anderson Cooper’s Attention
Global Voices author Anna Gueye was instrumental in a recent campaign to persuade influential CNN reporter Anderson Cooper to pay as much attention to protests in African countries such as Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire, as he has to Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab world uprisings.
Azerbaijan: Great People's Day
Activists in Azerbaijan have opened a Facebook page, 11 March – Great People's Day in Azerbaijan / 11 Mart – Böyük Xalq Günü, to attract support for their plans to...
Azerbaijan: Join Us
Pro-opposition activists in the Armenian Diaspora are starting to use rap music to communicate their message ahead of next week's demonstration in Yerevan while youth movements in Azerbaijan have long...
Armenia: Rapping the Revolution of Reform
Even if the use of social media ahead of an opposition rally scheduled to mark the 3rd anniversary of bloody post-presidential clashes which left 10 dead remains low, some activists...
Lebanon: March Against Sectarianism #Feb27 #uniteLB
Lebanese activists are marching today, Feb27, at noon, to demand the end of the confessional system that rules Lebanon. The activists are using this Facebook group to organize. The Unite Lebanon hashtag #uniteLb is also used for...
Angola: Mysterious call for youth revolution
“Agostinho Jonas Roberto dos Santos” (clearly a composite of the names of deceased Angolan figures) created a website [link now broken] with a call for Angolan youth to revolt on...
Armenia: Homophobia as propaganda?
Unzipped: Gay Armenia, one of two blogs written by Mika Artyan, comments on remarks by a major opposition politician linking emigration to homosexuality ahead of this week's rally to call...
China: Jasmine Revolution, Week Two
Following dozens of arrests since an anonymous blog post called for revolutionary gatherings in cities across China last Sunday, a second round of gatherings is scheduled for today. Has the heavy-handed government response turned what many insist was a stunt into something more powerful?
Armenia: Social Networks for Social Revolution?
With uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world, the extra-parliamentary opposition in Armenia is now seeking to replicate events in the former Soviet republic, and not least because 1 March 2011 will mark the 3rd anniversary of post-presidential election clashes which left 10 people dead.
Russia: Bloggers Deconstruct Isolationist Propaganda
As Russia is approaching another election cycle (in 2011 Russians are supposed to elect the Parliament and in 2012 – the president) the voices of state propagandists get louder. The upcoming election process, tamed and controlled by the President's office and the ruling party "United Russia," will be happening in the context of the Arabian "Spring of Nations 2.0." This fact inspires pro-Democracy activists, as well as regime advocates.
Russia: Internet Freedom As Cold War 2.0
Gregory Asmolov analyzes bloggers' reactions to the Internet Freedom speech by Hillary Clinton.
