The Two Faces of Social Media in Conflict
Presented by: Nada Alwadi, Bahraini journalist, writer and researcher
Presented at: 5th International Conference on Conflict Resolution Education
Date of Session: March 17, 2012
Session Description: These slides are from a keynote session addressing how social media is being used to facilitate self-organization, independent media, and effective nonviolent civil resistance against oppression and injustice with first hand examples from Bahrain and Egypt. It also addresses the other side of social media, looking at how oppressive structures and regimes can and have used it to further their own purposes, spy on activists, spread their own propaganda, and control information. The dynamics of conflict in which grassroots movements and their adversaries can use social media, as well as the limits of the use of social media by grassroots movements is explored. See these videos on social media tactics and the Bahrain protests for more information on that case example.