In yet another example of how free media can have an potential impact across the world. Israel and Hamas are now battling each other through viral videos.
While the IDF has made use of Youtube, Palestinian activists have recently launched Palutube, apparently based out of Russia. It's easy to get carried away with the significance of this in regards to uncensored media (with the exception of Fatah throwing up roadblocks to the creation of Hamas' terrestrial station, The Palestinian Territories has always had a freer press than the rest of the Arab World.) Overall however, increased traffic to sites like this can only make it easier for similar channels being created in other parts of the region.
The story of Arab and Egyptian bloggers has gotten a lot of play in the past year, with their actual significance still unproven. We really haven't seen viral videos however play much of a role in Arab citizen journalism. It has happened, and has had quite an effect. Several years ago a police officer was taped beating and raping a man. The video, posted on Youtube, forced the Egyptian government to prosecute the case. These incidents may be few and far between, but viral video has proven itself as a potential very useful tool in citizen journalism.
Note: I find some of the material on this site disturbing, and am not endorsing any message from the site.
- Also, how come blogger's spell check doesn't recognize the words "bloggers" or "Youtube?" The last one is owned by Google!
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