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MARCH 2016

The Role of New Media in the

Egyptian Revolution

A Reappraisal

RUFAT SAFARLI University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom

Keywords: Arab spring, new media, Egypt, Middle East, Twitter, social movement      On the 11th of January, President Hosni Mubarak, the autocratic leader of Egypt since

the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981, had been forced to resign his power. This

was the culmination of an unprecedented wave of protests that had swept the streets

of Cairo, provoked by decades of authoritarian oppression and economic fatigue.1

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians joined the anti-government strikes on Tahrir

Square and demanded an end to police brutality, electoral fraud and disregard for the

rule of law, and in less than three weeks, one of the longest ruling autocrats had

fallen, liberating Egypt from the dark days of the Mubarak era.2 The protesters were

predominantly young and educated, and could no longer accept low wages,

                                                                                                               1  Ryan, Yasmine (26 January 2011). "How Tunisia's Revolution Began - Features". Al 2  This is not to claim that the post-Hosni Mubarak era was and is less authoritarian. In this paper, the focus is on Egypt under Mubarak and there is no objective to justify the Egyptian revolution.

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unemployment and chronic inflation that inherently were the attributes of Mubarak's

Egypt. Given the Cairens' hardship under Mubarak rule, it is not hard to understand

why they wanted change, but rather how they achieved it. As the Tahrir Square

protests deciphered, a debate emerged on what role new media had played in the

protests that had led to the collapse of the seemingly stable thirty-year-old regime and

how change was attained when faced by the obstructions that autocratic Egypt

presented. The extent to which new media is capable of facilitating an end to

authoritarian regimes is a matter that divides opinion; in the Egyptian case, they are

deemed to have been either pivotal in the success of the revolution or their role is seen

to have been deceitfully exaggerated.3

This paper aims to revisit the debate on the role of new media in the

Egyptian Revolution. By new media, this study will refer to sources of information

and methods of communication that have paved the way for a new system of political

communication in Egypt and the world (i.e. through social media outlets).45 In testing

to what extent new media was important in facilitating and escalating the Tahrir

Square protests that led to the collapse of Mubarak's regime, this study will first

construe authoritarianism under Mubarak and emphasise what obstructions protesters

faced. Second, it will assess arguments for and against the perception that new media

can facilitate protests under an authoritarian regime, both in general and in the case of

Egypt, reviewing popular media debate and academic literature. Third, it will briefly

examine empirical data from The Engine Room's 'Tahrir Data Project' to grasp the                                                                                                                3  Howard, Philip N., and Muzammil M. Hussain. "The Role of Digital Media." Journal of Democracy 22.3 (2011): 35. Web. 4  In the world at large and not limited to the MENA region. There are obviously more social media platforms than those highlighted. 5  Tufekci, Zeynep, and Christopher Wilson. "Social Media and the Decision to Participate in Political Protest: Observations From Tahrir Square." Journal of Communication 62.2 (2012): 365-6. Web.

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extent to which new media empowered and organised protesters. The inherent

limitation to this study is that it is difficult to argue that the uprisings would not have

occurred without the use of new media; nevertheless, this paper will conclude that the

Egyptian Revolution was not a Facebook or Twitter Revolution. Rather, it will

contend that new media and the system of communication it has enabled performed

an important role in the process of revolutionary change, along with other traditional

forms of activism.6

Authoritarianism in Mubarak's Egypt

Mubarak's authoritarian rule had for many decades restrained the

development of civil society in Egypt, imposing barriers that thwarted social

mobilisation and change in the country. Scholars and NGOs concurrently stressed that

Egypt was one of the most authoritarian states in the world under Mubarak's rule7 and

that the regime’s alleged commitment to democratic reform did not in fact resemble

what in reality was a political system structured to ensure regime survival through

NDP (National Democratic Party)8 hegemony.9 With the ban of religious parties, the

Muslim Brotherhood and Mubarak's strongest opposition, was delegitimised.

Likewise, his strongest challenger in the 2005 elections, Ayman Nour, was unjustly

arrested.10 Electoral fraud, violence and general malpractice culminated during the

2010 parliamentary elections, when an ill Mubarak wanted to ensure that his son

                                                                                                               6  It is a matter that requires one to prove what would have happened if new media would not have been used during the Egyptian upheavals, which is impossible. Reference to previous uprisings where new media was not employed is not justifiable, as this is a different case. 7  Freedom House, 2011. Egypt: Freedom House. 8  Founded by Anwar Sadat in 1978, it was an authoritarian centrist party led by Mubarak. 9  I did not go into great detail on regime survival, as this is not my focus in this study. 10  Freedom House, 2011, Op. cit.

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Gamal would succeed him. The root to these constitutional violations is believed to

have derived its strength from Law No. 162 of 1958, known as the "Emergency Law."

With the exception of a temporary interruption between 1980 and 1981, a state of

emergency prevailed till 2012, following Mubarak's resignation. This meant that

constitutional rights were suspended, censorship legalised and police authority

extended, restricting non-governmental political activities, including social

mobilisation and protests.11

The Influence of New Media Revisited

'The Popular Debate'

In spite of the obstructions that autocratic Egypt presented under

Mubarak, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia,

poured into the streets of Cairo to protest against poverty and repression. Even though

security forces confronted the protesters with arms, their numbers grew, despite

injuries and an increasing death toll.12 This wave of protest swept Egypt's long-ruling

leader Hosni Mubarak from power after 18 days of unrelenting rallies.13 As these

protests unfolded, a debate surfaced on the nature and extent of the role played by

new media in the uprisings that saw Mubarak's regime collapse. While one side refers

to the revolution as a Twitter [or Facebook] phenomenon that made social activism

possible amid impediments presented by authoritarian governance, the other side

                                                                                                               11  "Egypt Extends 25-Year-Old Emergency Law." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2006. Web. 12  Elshahed, Mohamed. "Social Science Research Council." Social Science Research Council. Web. 13 Mar. 2016. 13  "Egypt Protests Topple Mubarak after 18 Days." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 2011. Web.  

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declares the role fulfilled by new media as having been modest or even tenuous.

Despite division of opinions, the broader consensus among scholars declares that new

media did indeed play an important role in the Egyptian Revolution; however, the

extent to which it was influential is elucidated differently.14

Clay Shirky, a prominent "cyber-utopian" and "digital evangelist,"15 as

labelled by "cyber-skeptics," argues that social media platforms such as Facebook and

Twitter have stimulated social mobilisation and dialogue, which previously has only

been practicable through state institutions, given the ban against non-governmental

political activities under the Egyptian "Emergency Law". Social media outlets have

given citizens the capability to establish and engage in social activism outside the

sphere of the state, arguing that this has "rendered the traditional nation state largely

irrelevant" and eradicated the restrictions presented by limited resources that

previously have inhibited activism.16 Alongisde Shirky, Denis Campbell and Wael

Ghonim have emphasised the role of the Internet and "citizen journalism" it has

stimulated as having been an essential factor in the success of the Egyptian uprisings.

These claims have largely been challenged by "cyber-skeptics," who

have disregarded the importance of new media, not only in the Egyptian uprisings, but

also in challenging authoritarian regimes at large. Malcolm Gladwell asserts that

Facebook and Twitter activism does not lead to "high-risk activism," as traditional

activism with stronger ties does. "The platforms of social media are built around weak

ties" and the problem with cyber-utopians of social media, Gladwell asserts, is that

                                                                                                               14  Comunello, Francesca, and Giuseppe Anzera. "Will the Revolution Be Tweeted? A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Social Media and the Arab Spring." Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 23.4 (2012): 453. Web. 15  The side which supports new media as having made the revolutions in the Arab spring possible, is referred to as "cyber-utopians" and "digital evangelists" 16  Shirky, Clay, 'The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, The Public Sphere, and Political Change'. Foreign Affairs. 2011.

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they "believe a Facebook friend is the same as a real friend." He further adds that

social media platforms lack hierarchies that bind people together as a group, which in

turn builds an organisation that can organise, plan and use authority structures to

trigger activism that can impact. Gladwell agrees with Shirky that the ease and speed

with which organisations can be made in the Internet age is acknowledgeable.

However, he claims that these forms of organisations moves our energies from

strategic and disciplined activities to those which only increases space for expression,

but have no power to cause impact. The distinction between high-risk and low-risk

activism, Gladwell asserts, is the difference between traditional activism and activism

stimulated by new media.17 The fundamental disparity in these opposing views is that

Shirky believes that the traditional nation state and hierarchies has become irrelevant,

while Gladwell argues that strong ties among activists cannot be formulated without

efficient strategies imposed by hierarchies.18 Although Gladwell makes a compelling

argument, he fails to consider the linkage between new media and grassroots, given

his emphasis on strong ties and how they do not exist on new media outlets. Gladwell

also appears to generalise the idea of risk and applies this notion without considering

the dichotomy of risk as perceived by different people. Another "cyber-skeptic,"

Evgeny Morozov, criticises the idea that social media outlets can challenge

authoritarianism. On the contrary, he claims that new media is a tool of state

oppression, falsely promoted by the West as an emancipatory tool where its

downsides are largely neglected. "By emphasising the liberating role of the tools and

downplaying the role of human agency" Morozov argues, "such accounts make

                                                                                                               17  M. Gladwell, 2010. Twitter, Facebook and Social Activism: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted. Web.  18  Gladwell, Malcom & Shirky, Clay, 'From Innovation to Revolution: Do Social Media Make Protests Possible?' Political Affairs. 2011. Web.

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Americans feel proud of their own contribution to events in the Middle East."19

Morozov enforces Gladwell's argument by disputing that the principal organisers of

Egypt's Facebook activism, even though they were not revolutionary leaders in the

conventional sense, did not act strategically through means of strong ties. Similarly,

the collaboration between Tunisian and Egyptian cyber-activists, had met in Cairo,

along with other bloggers and activists, to share advice on how to promote advocacy

and battle censorship. Thus, Morozov argues that the success behind cyber-activism

in the Egyptian case was not purely virtual, but had its foundation in physical

meetings, which in turn could cause the impact needed.20

The Academic Literature

The academic literatures on the debate on what role new media played

in the Egyptian uprisings, as opposed to the popular debate, argue for a discussion

beyond the dichotomous visions held by utopian and dystopian arguments. Lisa

Anderson also argues that the debate cannot make generalised assumptions, when in

fact it must emphasise the role of new media in each Arab country separately, given

the different social and political dynamics of respective country, as well as varying

levels of internet penetration. Nahed Eltantawy and Julie Wiest both argue that social

media played an instrumental role in the success of anti-government rallies in Egypt.21

Social media platforms provided the means to effectively receive and disseminate

information and as opposed to Gladwell, they believe that social media has helped to

                                                                                                               19  Morozov, Evgeny. "Facebook and Twitter Are Just Places Revolutionaries Go | Evgeny Morozov." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2011. Web. 20  Ibid. 21  N. Eltantawy, & J. Wiest, 2011. ‘Social Media in the Egyptian Revolution: Reconsidering Resource Mobilization Theory’. International Journal of Communication, Volume 5. pp. 1208

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strengthen ties among activists. It was through social media technologies and levels of

encouragement that Egyptian protesters were motivated. New media has made large-

scale mobilisation possible, extending the reach of protests to millions via social

media outlets. Eltantawy and Wiest believe that resource mobilisation theory can

explain the Egyptian Revolution, because social mobilisation relies on resources, and

social media being such a resource, has the "ubiquity and potential for communicating

messages to massive, global audiences," and may be regarded "as an important,

instrumental resource for collective action and social change."22

Many academics and journalists have presented different opinions on

how important new media has been in the Egyptian uprisings with most of them, in

one way or another, acknowledging the importance of new media. However, Larry

Diamond is more enthusiastic with regard to new media and its functions than most

scholars. Diamond argues that social media platforms ought to be viewed as liberation

technologies, expanding political, social and economic liberties. Building on this,

Serajul Bhuiyan argued that social media platforms not only enabled protesters to

break down barriers of fear, but it also made the protests "sooner and helped it

develop in a way that would have been impossible" otherwise.23 Al Sayyad and

Guvenc argued that new media did in fact cultivate a new form of citizenship, but

without protesters, its role would have been minimal; "urban space remains the most

important arena for social change and expression of dissent."24 Lim adds onto this

argument, asserting that social media was relevant only in the context of

complimenting and being complimented by traditional sources of activism; "the

                                                                                                               22  Ibid., p.1218-9. 23  Bhuiyan, Serajul, ‘Social Media and Its Effectiveness in the Political Reform Movement in Egypt’. Middle East Media Educator, 2011. 14. 24  N. AlSayyad & M. Guvenc, ‘Virtual Uprisings: On the Interaction of New Social Media, Traditional Media Coverage and Urban Space during the 'Arab Spring'’. 2013. Urban Studies.

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political resistance developed by a small group of young activists, the social media

elites, was disseminated to a wider urban society through informal networks."25 Al-

Jazeera extensively used material that had been published on Facebook and YouTube.

This supports the argument that new media and satellite television (traditional form of

activism) complimented one another in the Egyptian uprisings.

With regard to scholars that hold a skeptical position toward new

media and its role in the Egyptian upheavals, they emphasise traditional explanations

of why revolutions start and why they are credible in explaining the Egyptian

uprisings. However, these arguments lack to understand that supporters of new media

do not exclude the importance of other factors (social and demographic) in assessing

new media's role in the revolutions. Skeptics tend to confuse the causes of revolutions

with methods that seek to facilitate them. In this case of study, we have sought to

examine to what extent new media has empowered and facilitated protests against

Mubarak's regime, not whether it caused the revolution in the first place.

Tahrir Square Data (TDS-a)

Although there is a vast theoretical debate on this subject as

emphasised in previous sections, empirical data provides a neutral [free from

ideological dichotomies] assessment of the protests and new media's role in them.

Having already examined the Tahrir Data Sets, Wilson and Dunn concluded that

social media was not as central to the demonstrations as claimed. However, they

asserted that Twitter had indeed had an impact on global media coverage and was

                                                                                                               25  M. Lim, ‘Clicks, Cabs, and Coffee Houses: Social Media and Oppositional Movements in Egypt. Journal of Communication, Volume 62. 2012. 243.

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inspiring to protesters.26 Wilson and Tufekci concluded that Facebook played a

crucial role in determining protesters' decisions with regard to participation in protests

and the probability of success.27

'Table 1'28 shows the results of participants who were asked what type of media they

used and whether it was used for general purpose or for protest information. The data

reveals that social media did play an important role for the use of protest information,

but its use was not sufficiently extensive to be called a "Twitter Revolution" as some

have done. Satellite television and telephone was used predominantly, but social

media, messaging and e-mails were used to a great extent as well. It is important to

note that certain media forms were deliberately used more often for protest activities

than others (social media and satellite television). Additionally, 'Table II' indicates

that Facebook was most actively consumed for protest coordination (nearly 50%) and

                                                                                                               26  Wilson & Dunn, ‘The Arab Spring| Digital Media in the Egyptian Revolution: Descriptive Analysis from the Tahrir Data Set’. 2011.1263.  27  Wilson & Tufekci, 2012, Op. cit., 364-5, 375 28  The Engine Room, 2013. TDS-a Protester Media Use. [Online].  

TABLE. I 'General Use' and 'Use for Protest Information'

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a platform on which anti-government thoughts could be disseminated (77.4%). This

further proves that social media platforms and Facebook in particular were useful

during the protests and could even be the explanation behind the success of the Tahrir

protests.

Finally, 'Table III' ranks the types of media that was found to have had the greatest

motivational strength in appealing to Egyptians. The data reveals that those who

consumed social media sites were the ones who took the largest risks by attending

protests on the first day of the strikes.29 This in turn supports the argument that social

media sites were essential to the success of the Tahrir Square protests, given that they

managed to motivate many Cairens to attend the protests. This finding contradicts

Gladwell's argument that social media outlets generate low-risk activism, when in fact

most of them protested for the first time. Wilson and Tukfeci declared that new media

outlets were linked with traditional platforms, forming a new system of political

communication.30

                                                                                                               29  Gladwell, 2010, Op. cit. 30  Wilson & Tukfeci, 2012, Op. cit., pp.364-6

TABLE. II Sources of Information

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Conclusion This paper has revisited the question on what role new media played in the Egyptian

Revolution and how important social media platforms were in facilitating the protests

against Mubarak and his regime. While skeptics, Gladwell and Morozov, both

criticised the idea that new media platforms could challenge authoritarianism; Shirky

argued that social media sites were the only platforms where one could engage in

social activism outside the sphere of the state. Gladwell asserted that Facebook and

Twitter was built on weak ties and could therefore not be considered high-risk

activism. However, as the Tahrir Square Data shows, social media consumers have

proven to take the largest risks, attending protests on the first day with no prior

experience. The data analysis also reveals that social media played an important role

for the use of protest information and information received on protest coordination.

Although the data analysis was brief, it is safe to declare that the Egyptian uprising

TABLE. III Media with Greatest Motivation

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was not a Facebook or Twitter revolution, as its role was not as great as cyber-

utopians had declared it to be. Most scholars agree that new media has played an

important role in facilitating protests during the Egyptian upheavals, but they did not

do this on their own. New media platforms interacted and complimented traditional

forms of communication, as the original material was often disseminated from social

media sites to satellite television.

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References Bhuiyan, Serajul, ‘Social Media and Its Effectiveness in the Political Reform Movement in Egypt’. Middle East Media Educator, 2011. Comunello, Francesca, and Giuseppe Anzera. "Will the Revolution Be Tweeted? A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Social Media and the Arab Spring." Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 23.4 (2012): 453. Web. Egypt Extends 25-Year-Old Emergency Law." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2006. Web. Egypt Protests Topple Mubarak after 18 Days." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 2011. Web. Elshahed, Mohamed. "Social Science Research Council." Social Science Research Council. Web. 13 Mar. 2016. Freedom House, 2011. Egypt: Freedom House. Gladwell, Malcom & Shirky, Clay, 'From Innovation to Revolution: Do Social Media Make Protests Possible?' Political Affairs. 2011. Web. Howard, Philip N., and Muzammil M. Hussain. "The Role of Digital Media." Journal of Democracy 22.3 (2011): 35. Web. M. Gladwell, 2010. Twitter, Facebook and Social Activism: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted. Web Morozov, Evgeny. "Facebook and Twitter Are Just Places Revolutionaries Go | Evgeny Morozov." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2011. Web. M. Lim, ‘Clicks, Cabs, and Coffee Houses: Social Media and Oppositional Movements in Egypt. Journal of Communication, Volume 62. 2012. 243. N. AlSayyad & M. Guvenc, ‘Virtual Uprisings: On the Interaction of New Social Media, Traditional Media Coverage and Urban Space during the 'Arab Spring'’. 2013. Urban Studies

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N. Eltantawy, & J. Wiest, 2011. ‘Social Media in the Egyptian Revolution: Reconsidering Resource Mobilization Theory’. International Journal of Communication, Volume 5. pp. 1208 Ryan, Yasmine (26 January 2011). "How Tunisia's Revolution Began - Features". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 2011. The Engine Room, 2013. TDS-a Protester Media Use. [Online]. Shirky, Clay, 'The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, The Public Sphere, and Political Change'. Foreign Affairs. 2011 Tufekci, Zeynep, and Christopher Wilson. "Social Media and the Decision to Participate in Political Protest: Observations From Tahrir Square." Journal of Communication 62.2 (2012): 365-6. Web Wilson & Dunn, ‘The Arab Spring| Digital Media in the Egyptian Revolution: Descriptive Analysis from the Tahrir Data Set’. 2011.1263