Seminar about media in Iran at the Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival 2009. Photo: CPH:DOX

During this summer’s elections in Iran, the role of the Internet and social media took on a new dimension. Not only for the Iranians who blogged, twittered and You-tubed through the demonstrations linked to the elections, but also for the rest of the world

By Helle Nordberg, IMS 

Western media and the Internet were rife with mobile phone videos and constantly updated blogs from Iranians in Tehran documenting the events around them during the elections earlier this year in June.

Following the events in Iran, some described the newfound flow of communication inside and out of the country as a twitter revolution. But was this really the case? What effect is new media having in Iran?

Exiled Iranian media researcher Omid Habibinia and exiled Iranian blogger Arash Kamangir discussed the possibilities and challenges of new media in Iran during a seminar titled  
"Blogging - a valid tool for political action?" arranged by IMS and CPH:DOX during the Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival in November.

Coffeenet

The first Internet connection in Iran was recorded in 1992 and the internet cafes that followed in subsequent years were since coined” Coffeenet” by locals in Iran. Today, Iran has the second highest percentage of Internet users in the Middle East (after Israel) with approximately 20 - 25 million people on the Internet, but the quality of access is poor.

A short documentary by Iranian filmmaker Reza Haeri screened at the seminar showed interviews with a number of ordinary Iranians about their views on and use of the Internet. The film painted a somewhat fractured picture of the extent to which the Internet is used and by whom. People interviewed felt that Internet was useful for planning travel, for staying in touch if you reside outside the capital, and for “preserving” your legacy by eternalising your views in a public forum. One Mullah said that Internet should be used for religious and political propaganda.

The slow speed of the Internet and the blocking of various news sites by Iranian authorities were highlighted as some of the main challenges facing Internet users in Iran.

A war of communication

According to Omid Habibinia, the Swiss-based Iranian media researcher participating in the seminar, Iranian authorities banned all news media including foreign media during the uprisings in the election period in June 2009.

- The speed of the Internet  was reduced, media websites were filtered, Messenger Service, an important tool for news, was barred, and mobile networks shut down to reduce contact between people during the demonstrations. But as a journalist, it was an opportunity to spread views, he says.

- I asked friends in Iran to send me videos and blogs which could be passed to media outside Iran. The videos were uploaded to You-Tube and other social networks. It was a way to spread the news of what was going on inside Iran, but also to correct mistakes made by Western media with this flow of information.

-  It was a war of communication between the people and the authorities, says Omid Habibinia.

- For us Iranians living abroad it was our responsibility to raise their voices and spread the news coming out of Iran via videos or blogs. But the slow connection meant that it could take a full day for a small video file to get through, he says.

-  You-tube videos were also used by authorities to identify and prosecute people taking part in the demonstrations. It was risky business. Not everyone knew how to blur faces in the videos.

Blogging – a valid tool for political action?

Aside from videos, blogging and twittering were other tools used by Iranians inside Iran to get their views out about what was going on during the elections. The Canadian-based Iranian blogger Arash Kamangir questioned whether blogging is only a positive vehicle for change.

- With blogs there is no objectivity. Who can say they really represent the Iranian view? Bloggers can call for action and protests without anyone being able to verify the truth behind their claims. Photos cannot be verified. This can have a dangerous rollercoaster effect.

- The Twitters and Re-Twitters played an important role in spreading the word outside Iran during the elections.  But due to the slow and difficult connections and other obstacles, I do not think it can be called a “Twitter revolution.”

- But the image of Iran outside Iran has changed in the last six months thanks to the Internet and the Bloggesphere.

State media changed by New Media

According to both Iranian media experts and the moderator of the seminar Pernille Bramming from the Danish newspaper Weekendavisen, there is no doubt that New Media has changed Iran’s State media. Whereas State media previously could ignore or deny the existence of certain events, state media are now increasingly forced to acknowledge for example demonstrations due to the documentation circulating on You-tube or other social websites.

But both panellists agreed that it is too early to talk about a twitter revolution in Iran until access to and the speed of the Internet improves. Continued international support to circumvent the filtering set up by Iranian authorities is however key to moving forward.