Oral Communication and the Arab Spring

Richard Hamilton on why the West has overstated the role of social media and understated the oral tradition in the Arab Spring.

Richard Hamilton | Published in 15 Mar 2012

Demonstrators on Army Truck in Tahrir Square, Cairo, January 2011. Photo / Ramy RaoofUpheavals in North Africa during the Arab Spring over the past year were eagerly seized upon by western journalists in particular as barometers of the use of social media. From the streets of Tunis to Cairo's Tahrir Square phrases such as ‘Twitter revolution' and ‘Facebook generation’ have been liberally applied.

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