"Let's protest": surprises in communicating against repression

Authors

Brian Martin, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

111597

Publication Details

Martin, B. (2016). "Let's protest": surprises in communicating against repression. IEEE Potentials, 35 (5), 16-18.

Abstract

Abstract: In Egypt in June 2010, a young man named Khaled Said was beaten to death by the secret police. In response, Google executive Wael Ghonim set up the Facebook page "We are all Khaled Said," and within a day, tens of thousands of people had joined. The Facebook page was used to publicize a series of protests against police brutality and government corruption, including a huge protest on 25 January 2011. As the resistance gathered momentum, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak ordered Internet and mobile phone service be shut down.