Though various social media platforms played a role in the Egyptian Revolution, none were as significant or contributed more to the Revolution than Facebook and Twitter. Revolutionaries had a means of communicating with one another instantly and efficiently, enabling them to update one another on the progress of the Revolution and of the problems they were facing. Facebook and Twitter provided a means for the revolutionaries to share pictures and videos of the protests. Numerous videos were posted on the “We Are All Khaled Said” Facebook page, including this video of a protest that took place on February 7, 2011, just four days before Mubarak’s resignation:
Footage from a protest during the Egyptian Revolution posted on the "We Are All Khaled Said" Facebook page.
Facebook provided a forum through which revolutionaries could explain and debate grievances and rally together to demand change. It served as a community for Egyptians all over the country to come together and share their stories and experiences and learn about what was happening in their country- the corruption as well as the sentiment for reform. It was Facebook that shed light on the astonishing police brutality that flooded through Egypt, as many people and pages, including the “We Are All Khaled Said” Facebook page, dedicated albums to photos of police brutality. Facebook also provided news articles, interviews, and official statements from the government to expose the people to Mubarak’s tyrannical regime and their enforcement of the emergency law, under which they could edit and forbid newspaper articles and other publications.
Facebook also served as a forum through which protests were organized. The “We Are All Khaled Said” Facebook page was the forerunner for the organization of protests, as the events proved to be very well organized and the protesters were supplied with detailed instructions and directions. The page also interacted with users to better determine where and when the demonstrations would take place. The page administrators, as Abdulla states, “… usually polled their users, asking them to vote for their place or time of preference for the next protest.” The administrators would then “…give a breakdown, with exact numbers and percentages, of the votes,” and the time and location of the protests would be set. In the case of the January 25th protest, the “We Are All Khaled Said” Facebook page administrators also gave followers notice that the location of the protest would change at midnight, thereby allowing less of a chance for police forces to assemble against them the following day.
Polls from the "We Are All Khaled Said" Facebook page. The poll on the left asks "Under whose law would you prefer to live under?" with the choices "Parliament, mixed parliament and the president, president, I don't know the difference." The poll on the right asks "Are you in favor of
protesting on the 8th of June to speed up the purpose of the
Revolution?" with the choices "Yes I want to join, No I do not want to join, I have not decided yet."
Facebook acted as the democratic voice the Egyptian people so deeply desired. It allowed the Egyptian people to bear witness to the crimes occurring in their country, enforced by their government and supported by the president. Facebook was the voice through which change was coordinated and the masses were assembled, and its intense importance and significance was evident throughout the Revolution. Through Facebook, Egyptians were able to communicate with one another, share information, and inevitably change Egypt forever.
Twitter enabled the Revolutionaries to instantly update one another and the world of the state of the Revolution. In dire situations, such as when the police began firing tear gas or when doctors were desperately needed in a certain location, Twitter was the avenue through which messages of danger or help were broadcast. Twitter was also used to rally support for the protests and inspire people to join the cause. Through Twitter, live minute-by-minute updates from the protests that swept through Egypt were shared with the world, immediately exposing it to the Egyptian Revolution.
The volume of Tweets sent from Egypt before the Revolution compared to after drastically differed, thereby proving that Twitter was incredibly popular in the Egyptian Revolution, as the number of tweets rose from 2,300 per day to well over 230,000 tweets per day. Through Twitter, information was dispersed and shared rapidly. In this video, created by André Panisson, the amount of retweets with the hashtag #Jan25 before and after the announcement of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation is diagramed. Through this video, it is easy to grasp the sheer power of Twitter in spreading information during the Egyptian Revolution.
Video depicting the volume of retweets with the hashtag #Jan25 before and after the announcement of Hosni Mubarak's resignation as president of Egypt.
Twitter acted as a twenty four hour news cycle during the Egyptian Revolution. It was used to alert revolutionaries of impending danger, call for help, inform others of the state of the protests, and spread optimistic messages of hope and change. Twitter was the most direct form of communication the revolutionaries had, and its use exploded in Egypt during the Revolution. It was through Twitter that the revolutionaries kept in contact with one another and demonstrated to the world that the Egyptian people were a force to be reckoned with.
Many factors contributed to the Egyptian Revolution: fraudulent elections, extreme poverty, a tyrannical government, and most of all the Emergency Law which authorized the police forces to detain persons without cause or trial, perform search and seizes without warrants, tap telephones, and more. The police in Egypt had an astounding amount of power, and they showcased it with fierce brutality. Savage beatings, sodomy, murder, and more horrific acts were all common practice by the Egyptian police. It was the utterly cruel murder of young Khaled Said that brought about the protests and demonstrations that constitute the Egyptian Revolution, including the massive protests that swept the nation on January 25, 2011. The events of the Egyptian Revolution were further advanced by the use of Facebook and Twitter. Facebook provided a place for Egyptians to share photos, videos, news articles, and more with one another. It was used to rally revolutionaries together and promote change through protests. Demonstrations, including the immense January 25, 2011 movement which is considered the start of the Egyptian Revolution, were organized through Facebook. Twitter was also used to share pictures, videos, and information about protests, but the main role of Twitter in the Egyptian Revolution was that of immediate informant. Twitter allowed for the quick rely of short bursts of information, and it was used to inform others and the world of the state of the Revolution as well as what was happening in the various demonstrations that occurred throughout the country. Through Twitter, revolutionaries were immediately made aware of any imminent danger, pleas for help, and the status of the protests. In the Egyptian Revolution, Facebook and Twitter played invaluable roles in spreading information, organizing protests, and bringing the people together to challenge the corrupt government and generate the change that Egyptians so fiercely desired.