Social Media and Its Effectiveness in the Political Reform Movement in Egypt

Abstract

This article examines the role of social media in political and social revolution in Egypt. It reveals how social media enhanced and ignited people’s desire for democracy and socio-economic advancement stalled by the long term authoritarian government. The main focus is on the importance of social media as a platform for discussion of ideas, experiences, and knowledge exchange: The big social media networks like Facebook and Twitter and individual blogs have emerged as powerful channels that allowed people in Egypt to bypass government censorship, spread the words of political reform, and break the barrier of fear. They mobilized millions of citizens to participate in political action and emerged as authoring agents and organizational power structures. The paper includes information about the demographics, education, and young age of the population of Egypt contributing to the political uprisings.

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