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5:The Arab spring and social media

The Arab spring started as anti-government protest that rocked Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly spread by early 2011 into what became known as the Arab spring which was a wave of protest, uprising and unrest in Arabic speaking country in North Africa and the Middle East. These protests and uprisings largely spread due to the use of social media and led to the toppling of the government in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen (Blakemore,2019). The Arab spring demonstrates how the power of social media can be used in a way to provoke and unite people in a common cause.

During these protests in the Middle East and North Africa social media played a part in mobilising and spreading a message between citizens and activists protesting for governmental change but what role did social media really play within the Arab spring. As social media was seen as one of the tools used by many to organise protester and then used to spread the footage gathered from rallies (Wolfsfeld, Segev & Sheafer, 2013). Furthermore, it must be noted that during Arab spring is the most defining images were not those of Hosni Mubarak's fall nor the battles in Tahrir Square in Cairo or even Mohammed Bouazizi's self-immolation in the central Tunisian town of Sidi. But the most defining images with those of men and women holding the smart phones capturing the moments of the protest uprisings during Arab springs the reason these may become may have become the most defining moment is that these are the images that found their way on social media and paint the picture of the Arab Spring to the outside world (Beaumont,2011).

However, it must be argued that are many that note social media played a part in mobilizing a movement of people but wasn’t the total reason that led to the uprising in protests surrounding the Arab spring. As argued by many protests came before social media even existed and that yes social media aided in connecting and immobilizing the group citizen in protesting an uprising against government and helped in capturing the moment of the Arab Spring. However, there are varying views on just how integral the role social media was within the uprisings in protest surrounding the Arab spring are some argued that the idea of social networking long before social media even existed as we needed to connect the social beings with other people also noted that the technology was not the key to the protest but more how the technology resonated with event and protest (Wolfsfeld, Segev & Sheafer, 2013). Meaning that social media elevated the already angry feelings that were surrounding the Arab spring and helps connect and aid individuals in protesting and uprising against the government that were in place at the time of the Arab Spring.

video that discusses how social media impacted the Arab spring

overall social media did play a major part in aiding the protest uprising of the Arab spring as it enabled individuals to connect and capture the moments that took place during the Arab Spring showing just how the digital technology has changed the face of political protest in in the world today as we now have platforms where we can share minute by minute coverage of protests and uprisings from around the world due to the problem social media has given individuals.

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Bibliography

Blakemore, E. (2019, March 29) What was the Arab Spring and how did it spread?. National geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/arab-spring-cause/

Wolfsfeld, G., Segev, E.  & Sheafer, T. (2013). Social Media and the Arab Spring: Politics Comes First. The International Journal of Press/Politics. 18(2), 115-137

Beaumont, P (2011, February 25). The truth about Twitter, Facebook and the uprisings in the Arab world. The guardian Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/25/twitter-facebook-uprisings-arab-libya

How did social media impact the Arab Spring? Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=zJSSEAMSKWw

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4:The world according to fake news.

Four years ago, the term ‘Fake news’ was a term not many used but today fake news’ is a term that this constantly frown around in the media today, with it becoming the word of the year in 2017 and a phase well use by Donald Trump. But what is exactly is ‘fake news’, this is a question that can been hard to answer has their many ways to describe it including, Commercially-driven sensational content meaning that they are stories that are not ideologically driven or no grounding in fact which are used mainly for internet traffic. Secondly is can described as being Nation state-sponsored misinformation with a goal of achieving influence by swing public option, finally is can be described as being social media its self, meaning with constant posting of twitter bots posting doctored, faked or misleading content all over social media leading to constant stream of fake in the world (Carson, 2019).

What effect has ‘fake news’ had. Fowling the 2016 US election found the most popular fake news stories where shared wider on Facebook than the most popular mainstream stories (Allcott & Gentzkow 2017). This show that ‘fake news is a wide spread problem that is being presented in realistic look manor that every day social media user, are falling for and believing as news which lead to it being shared around the internet.

So how do we spot fake news in today world where we have a constant stream of information for a number of different souses. First it must be note that Facebook and google are trying to combat fake news by fact checking content. there are many ways to spot a fake news that is being circulated first by cheeking who the news site that published it and beware of the comet such does it make sense or are the headline seem be trying to provoke anger. Over all the main way to spot fake news in to check the story with news organisation you trust (Waugh, 2019). Below is a BBC video that provide more information on spotting fact news.

Overall fake news is a problem that is facing society today as with the constant stream of content and information inundating our digital platforms it is hard to know now what is really is fake in terms of the fact especially on social media platforms due to the fact that we have a constant stream of content that we can access instantly with hard to decipher what is truly the real news and what is fake news purely out there to click bait and website traffic. Overall it would seem that fake news has become a part of the digital age that something that is hard to fully get rid of due to the amount content information that is uploaded onto the Internet and social media platforms every day.

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Bibliography

Carson, J. (2019, April 18). Fake news: What exactly is it – and how can you spot it?. The telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/fake-news-exactly-has-really-had-influence/

Allcott, H. & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election. The Journal of Economic Perspectives. 31(2), 211-235.

Waugh, R. (2019,March 6) 10 tips on how to spot fake news. ?. The telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/information-age/how-to-spot-fake-news/

How can you spot fake news? - BBC Click. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qet-0mfK5b0

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3:Social media: The platform for protested

Protest has been a part of society for centuries a way of   the rights and demanding change within society many iconic protests have taken place over the centuries from the suffragettes protesting for right for women to vote to the civil rights movement protesting for quality. However, in a digital age social media has totally transformed the way see and engage with protest with more campaign taking the fight for justice, equality and change online social media has become the digital soap box giving a voice to many around the world. This is because social media has the ability to facilitate access to a large number of contacts which in turn enables social movements to reach critical mass audiences furthermore can foster personal and group identities due to the use of multiple channels of feedback here accepted and a reinforcement of the groups ideologies norms (Valenzuela, 2013). This shows that social media ability to collect connect mass audiences that share collective view and allow them to create groups that advocate on societal issues as social media makes connecting with like-minded people much easier than it was before the existence of the Internet and the digital age.

The pink protest truly demonstrates the use of social media as platform for protest. The Pink Protest is a movement found by Scarlett Curtis, Grace Campbell, Honey Ross and Alice Skinner as a community of activists committed to engaging in action and supporting each other. The pink protest as a movement has used Instagram as an integral part of the campaign and protesting with their slogan being ‘the revolution will be pink & posted on Instagram’(The pink protest,2019 ),this  show social how social media is a powerful  environment for connecting with like maid people and frosting protest for change this demonstrated by the pink protest many campaigns including the #FreePeriods campaign, #endFGM, #areyouanactivist? With each of the protest using a hashtag at the beginning to show that social media and digital platforms are a major part of the pink protests campaigns and showing the important social media has within modern day protests and act (click the links to find out more about each campaign) also each of these campaigns demonstrates how digital platform have been use in the modern day to engage and spread activism's.

In an article written for Vouge.com (click the link to read the whole article) Amika George founder of the free periods campaign discuss  the power of protest and the shift we have seen with protest.  She notes how social media has given the digital opportunity to shout about what make us angry and need to be changed as it is an environment that make activism accessible to everyone which has led to the rise of online campaigns and social movements that are making real, offline change. Counting on from this Amika goes on to talk about the part social media played in her own protest outside downing street for #FreePeriods which saw over 2,000 people come to protest for the end of period poverty. She notes excepted for a few close friends the rested of the people where there because they had seen a tweet or Instagram post about the protest (Vouge). This article shows how social media as a platform is Uniting people and causes together to fight for change in the world, with its special being utilized by young as a platform for protest.

In terms Free Periods Campaign (watch the video to find out more on the campaign). That was founded by Amika George saw success from the use of social media as a platform for protest as they were first able to gain the attention of the government as on the 26 March 2018 the government gave 1 .5 million to address period poverty in the UK following on from that in March 13, 2019 the government announced plans to provide free at menstrual products in secondary schools and colleges in England from the next school year (the pink protest,2019). This shows that the use of social media as a platform can get the attention of government and make real different off-line which is demonstrated through the success of the free periods campaign which has led to changes in attitudes.

Overall social media has become a platform that is not only sharing pictures of our everyday life but as a platform that can be used utilized by individuals and groups protesting and advocating for change in the society today this is especially resonates with the younger generation that are utilizing social media to protest and fight for change within the society we live in today are making real change to society off-line through the use of digital platforms.

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Biography

Valenzuela, S. (2013). Unpacking the Use of Social Media for Protest Behaviour: The Roles of Information, Opinion Expression, and Activism. American Behavioural Scientist. 57(7), 920–942.  

The Pink Protest (2019). About. https://www.pinkprotest.org/about [ accessed 29th May 2019]

George, A. (2018, December21). Amika George On the Power of Protest. Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/amika-george-on-the-power-of-protest

Free Periods: It's Time to Take Legal Action to End Period Poverty Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hR0rtIEzN0

The Pink Protest (2019). #Freeperiods. https://www.pinkprotest.org/freeperiods[ accessed 29th May 2019]

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2:Who is a Journalist in the digital age?

The digital age has rewritten the rule book on who is a journalist and who get the report the news. As of ten-year ago the world of journalism looks very different and the question of who a journalist was a simple question to answer, it was someone who made a living from producing editorial material that was either published or broadcasted. Today that question has become more and more difficult to answers as the liners are becoming more and more blurred. (Marsh, 2012).

The blurring of the lines and the freedom of digital platform has led to a rise of citizen journalism, the phase “citizen journalism” enter journalism in the aftermath of the 2004 boxing day tsunami in Indonesia where the video camera footage, mobile and digital camera snaps offer a range of first-hand account of the event taken by everyday people mainly those who were on holiday (Allen,2015). This show that thought the growth of digital technologies and the able to share instantly have given use the ability to experience events for the first had perspective and give citizen the place of journalist.

Kester Oshioreame Ted talk explain in more detail what a citizen Journalism is and how its changing journalism.

The 7/7 bombing on July 7th, 2005 singled the changing relationship between tradition journalism and the citizens. As during the unfolding events, news origination relied heavily on the mobile phone image for everyday citizens to tell the story to the audience (Allen,2015). as showed below an image receive by the BBC at 11:30 the day of the bombing by Alexander Chadwick become one of the most icon image of the7/7 booming as note by the BBC the bombs when off underground the only witness were commuter, tourists, people who just happened to be there. But many of them were armed with a camera phone (Taft, 2014). The use of the everyday citizen form around the world had led to capturing the moments in real time as the most likely person to be first on scene of a news worthy event is likely be an ordinary citizen with a camera who then has the able to upload and share the imager cross social media such Facebook, Instagram and twitter instantly. (Allen,2015).  

However, citizen journalism has become more than just being there in the moment of a news worthy event but has stretched further with the growth of the internet. It allows everyday people to play an active role in collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and Information. As the Internet and new media technologies offer unlimited opportunities to upload and share content to a wide range of audience (Noor, 2017). counting on from this a number of news websites have been created and control by citizen journalist example of this include IReport which was created by CNN in 2006, and  myHeimat.de which was launched in Germany in 2005. The number of citizen journalism website continue to grow today as the number of internet user and write rise (Noor, 2017). This show the digital age has given every day people the ability to become the report as the development in the internet and new media technologies has made the opportunities to every day citizen unlimited as they are able to capture and share news and story with their own audiences.

Over all the question of who a journalist in a digital age is a difficult question to answers as thought the development of the internet and news media technical the line has become well and truly blurred, as the internet give the power and ability to report and share to the everyday person there for changing the world of journalisms and who and be a journalist for ever.

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Bibliography

Marsh, A. (2012, October 16). Digital age rewrites the role of journalism. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainability/sustainability-report-2012-people-nuj

Allen, S. (2015). Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media. London: SAGE

http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/download/socialmovement/n53.pdf

Citizen Journalism Kester Oshioreame TEDxPortHarcourt Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfrFuvQIO5o

Allen, S. (2015, July 7). Crisis reporting and citizen journalism: 7/7 changed the way we experience news. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/crisis-reporting-and-citizen-journalism-7-7-changed-the-way-we-experience-news-44369

Taft, S. (2014, December 27). How did you help us change the way we report the news? The BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-30421631

Noor, R. (2017). Citizen Journalism vs. Mainstream Journalism: A Study on Challenges Posed by Amateurs. Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications. 3(1). 55-76

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1: Is journalism dying in the face of the internet?

The rise of the internet has completely transformed the world of journalism gone are the day of typewrite and newspaper cutting libraries in its place computer and the internet. Powered by the development in technology and the rise of the internet, news has become 24/7 with immediate access from a verity of different source and social platforms (Bakhurst, 2011).

With this transformation of journalism and its move to become more and more online with the Independent becoming the first national newspaper to go comply digital and cease print copy or in their words embrace a global, digital only future (Independent, 2016). But is the independent the first of many to case print. Beth Rigby The Times media editor note the industry is in turmoil and has been for many year and professor Brian Cathcart predicts that all UK national newspaper will go out of print (BBC, 2016). So, does this signal the death of journalism or an industry adapting and evolving to stay alive in a digital world.

The Move to digital platformer as a venue of news has brought with its own new challenges to the world of journalism as developing a business model that compensation for the loss of print t circulation and advertising income that would be loss with the move to digital is proving difficult (Nel & Westlund,2012). how to do you make money from something that is see as largely seen as free by its reader as news origination naively give away everything for free with the belief digital advising would simply replace print lose (Felle, 2016). So, to combat the loss in revenue a number of news companies implemented Pay walls as a way to put value on content and as a way to try and replace the lost in print circulation (Felle, 2016).  In an article published by the magazine Wired they the discuss the how a pay wall worked and the lesson they have learn one year after implementing it. First they note how a pay wall worked as over the year the number of new digital subcalibres increased by nearly 300 percent agented the previous year. Over the year they tested a number of different ways to increase subscription such as send out newsletters, gift and offering subscription to partner brand some work some didn’t but over all they note the most important lesson they learnt was that Subscribers just really want information to be good (Thompsom,2019). Read the link to read the full article by clinking the link. over all this show how journalism is adapting to the change world to stay alive and producing engaging and joyable content for its readers.

Overall journalism is not dying in the face of Internet is evolving with the times to enable the audience to access the news on a daily basis but however due to the evolving nature of journalism it does suggest that in years to come we may the end of print newspapers and see them develop in to  a completely  digital world of news and journalism where news is accessed online rather than in a physical copy.

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Bibliography

Bakhurst, k. (2011, September 9). How has social media changed the way newsrooms work?. The BBC. Retrieved fromhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2011/09/ibc_in_amsterdam.html

Independent. (2016, February 12). The Independent becomes the first national newspaper to embrace a global, digital-only future. The independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/the-independent-becomes-the-first-national-newspaper-to-embrace-a-global-digital-only-future-a6869736.html

The BBC. (2016, February 12). Independent to cease as print edition. The BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35561145

Nel, F. & Westlund, O. (2012) THE 4C'S OF MOBILE NEWS: Channels, conversation, content and commerce. Journalism Practice, p.1-10.

Felle, T. (2016, February 22) Are paywalls saving journalism?. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/are-paywalls-saving-journalism-53585

Thompson, N.  (2019, March 6) We launched a paywall. it worked! Mostly. The Wired. Retrieved fromhttps://www.wired.com/story/wired-paywall-one-year-later/