is social media playing a rule in the revolutions int he middle east ? (Social media and revolution)?

[a123]

[Judy M]

Social media is playing a role that is being hyped up as being crucial. The bigger role has been the repression of Mubarak for thirty years and the sheer bravery and passion of the ordinary Egyptians.
And similarly for the other countries inspired by this.

[oneday]

Yes. With social media protesters are able to come together in greater numbers. Before a few people would band together and then HOPE that other like minded individuals would join. Now, the people are able to band together through media and then show up in great numbers. Takes the POWERS THAT BE off guard. The regimes relied on the DIVIDE AND CONQUER method of control. It doesn't work anymore. Not only that, with phone cameras the world can see the abuses the govt. dishes out. The world is watching.

[Sam]

it is playing an importnt role. facebook for organizing. twitter for spreading and learning news

[Jack H]

I think so, it gives the people a voice.
It shows the wider world what is happening to them.

[waitaminute]

At the same time the liberal Big Media bias is being exposed:
-12/08 Zogby poll on which is the most trusted news source: FoxNews 39%, CNN 16%, MSNBC 15%. The most trusted news personalities: Rush Limbaugh 13%; Bill O’Reilly 10%; Chris Mathews 2%. Web news is the most trusted, more than TV and print news combined.
-9/09 Pew poll, 1985 to 2009, on how public perceives media bias: 60 percent say the press is politically biased; 50 percent say it’s liberal; 22 percent say it’s conservative; 27 percent gave no answer.
-6/15/10: Rasmussen poll on who the media supported in ’08 election: 51% said Obama; 7% said McCain.
-1/10 Public Policy Poll, a Democratic leaning pollster, found that Fox News was trusted by more people than ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC news.
-1/27/10 Guardian, UK, on Nielson poll, wrote: "Fox most trusted news channel in U. S.”: Fox News 49%, CNN 39%, ABC 31%, CBS 32%, NBC 35%.
-11/4/10 Washington Post: “Fox News Channel towered over its cable news rivals on election night, attracting more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined.”
-10/22/06 London Evening Standard: BBC CEO Grade caught on tape recording admitting that BBC is far Left, guilty of promoting Left-wing, anti-Christian, pro-Muslim views; promotes multiculturalism; gives no moral weight to America or rural folks; BBC Diversity Chief wants veiled female reporters.
-6/17/07 Daily Telegraph: The BBC has failed to promote proper debate on major political issues because of the inherent liberal culture of its staff, a report commissioned by the corporation has concluded. Says BBC director general Mark Thompson: "In the BBC I joined 30 years ago, there was, in much of current affairs, in terms of people's personal politics, which were quite vocal, a massive bias to the left."

And the socialists -- I mean democrats don't like it:
-11/18/10 huffingtonpost.com: Democrat Senator wants FCC to shut down Fox News.“During a committee meeting on Wednesday about television retransmission consent, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) veered away from his prepared remarks to take aim at both Fox News and MSNBC: “More than just retransmission consent ails our television markets. We need new catalysts for quality news and entertainment programming. I hunger for quality news. I'm tired of the right and the left. There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to Fox and to MSNBC, "Out. Off. End. Goodbye."

And as to the Master Spinners?

-Walter Cronkite, speaking at the UN in 1999: "It seems to many of us that if we are to avoid the eventual catastrophic world conflict we must strengthen the UN as a first step toward a world government." And all those years I thought he was just reporting the news…
-Dan Rather, speaking on CBS Evening News, 6/17/87: “Despite what many Americans think, most Soviets do not yearn for capitalism or Western-style democracy.”

Neither of these propagandists would thrive today -- kind of like Chris Matthews, with his 37 viewers.