IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE
Freedom of expression
Blogging has added a new dimension to political discussion. This is especially the case in the Middle East where people can enjoy a fair share of anonymity.
- By Manal Alafrangi, Staff Writer
- Published: 00:00 August 31, 2006
- Image Credit:
Blogs empower non-state actors in the Arab world to speak and be heard
Blogging has added a new dimension to political discussion. This is especially the case in the Middle East where people can enjoy a fair share of anonymity.
According to Helmi Noman, a Fulbright scholar who researches internet usage in the Arab world, the power which was monopolised by states before the internet age is now rapidly eroding in the Arab world as citizens create and disseminate information.
Noman contends, "The internet has led to the abandonment of state-controlled media."
By commenting on the latest political events in the Arab world, bloggers (or citizen journalists) are seeking to get their voices heard. Some find blogs to be an alternative means of providing and discussing news that isn't critical enough or representative of something or someone.
Others spend time on blogs to vent their frustrations at news or world governments. They feel there is a freedom of expression attached to the internet which is not available through the traditional news sources such as newspapers, television or radio.
Fayyad Sbaihat, a contributor to the Kabobfest blog which is based in the US, says that when a person 'googles' a specific term that pertains to Arab politics, "the vast majority of literature coming out is written by individuals who don't necessarily represent the Arab community".
This is why he is motivated to blog on the Middle East's political climate. In his words, he wants to "have enough online material to counterbalance the spin of those who are unrepresentative". In that sense, blogs give room to the voice of non-state actors.
Heavy scrutiny
One thing is clear: the spread of blogging comes at a time when mainstream media is undergoing heavy scrutiny for being subjective in its news reporting and analysis.
Blogs have become essential in analysing the mass opinion on a certain topic. This was exemplified most recently during the war on Lebanon which saw an explosion of regional and international blogs, all focusing on the Israeli attacks. Some went beyond the usual commenting and were actually providers of news and photos.
As'ad Abu Khalil, a Lebanese-American political science professor who currently teaches at California State University and is a visiting professor at University of California, Berkeley, is the voice behind Angry Arab, one of the most popular blogs on the politics of the Middle East (visitors average 9,550 per day).
He says without a doubt, "there are democratic cries in the Arab world" which are epitomised on blogs though he cautions that the people who engage in blogging constitute a very small section of the population.
Abu Khalil says they tend to be "largely affluent and westernised Arabs… which is a different phenomenon from that in Europe or the US where college students blog frequently".
Nevertheless, the political science professor says, for many Arabs it's hard to get through the wars of the media and its affiliated financial stances. "The official media are subject to severe censorship."
The internet is where people can go beyond and express. It has the potential of breaking the taboos (sex, religion and politics). "If you are blogging you can hide behind these barriers."
But blogs should be handled carefully as there is no system to keep a check on them. Agreeing with that Abu Khalil adds that the world of blogs is unverifiable and therefore people should choose wisely.
This is not to say that mainstream media has a clean record when it comes to reporting the truth, but at least (in theory) journalists adhere to certain rules and regulations. Bloggers do not have to worry about any of that. (The flip side is that most blogs don't try to hide their opinion or ideological affiliation, while newspapers pretend to be independent).
Political blogs can also be dangerous as they talk the talk and create truths based on their own interpretations of reality. If their interpretations are too removed from the truth then they really amount to idle chatter or even gossip.
For the Middle East, blogs have been a means of educating people, especially those in the West. It could be argued that blogs have reached people who were previously unreachable.
For example, Americans who watch channels like Fox, CNN or MSNBC are bound to be exposed to one side of the story.
The fact that some "Middle Eastern" blogs are reachable in the US and Europe plays to the benefit of the "Arab cause" in the sense that many people, who can't get themselves to be heard through dailies like The New York Times or the Washington Post, suddenly have a voice. How much exposure the blogger gets depends on the quality of the blog itself.
All blogs, to some extent, are a free and independent voice for people. And in that regard, they are very democratic.
When it comes to the Arab world though, their impact has been minimal. That is, blogs could not affect the course of events in Lebanon for example and their campaign to stop the war did not achieve much. At most, they focused the attention on that issue.
It should be pointed out that the vast majority of blogs in the Middle East are recent and new. Noman finds that the unprecedented access to information offered by the internet "empowers Arab internet users and defies the social and political structures in the Arab world".
When asked if Arabs are more politically aware people compared to others Abu Khalil, says: "We certainly are more politicised by virtue of our life. I grew up in Lebanon and Israeli bombs were falling on our heads. We are politically charged. We feel a sense of a grave injustice that does not get understood or explained in the West. In general, I agree with this statement."
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