Social Media: More Harm then Good?

Over the course of the semester we have learned much about how social media and politics can be used for good or bad. We tend to read more about how useful social media is for everyone and in turn we see a lot more of the positive aspects of social media instead of the bad. Even though social media and politics can be good there are also many negative aspects to it as well. Social media can play a huge part in the direction a election is going or even have an impact on a countries progress. This is what we seem to be seeing in the Middle East based on an interview with Fareed Zakaria.

In this article, which can be found on CNN, we can see how social media is being used as a tool to create more harm then good between the Israelis and Palestinians. As Zakaria mentioned during his interview, "What I think is new here, which is very troubling, is that people are using the new tools of technology, social media, and your beginning to see radical fringe elements that are able to organize, galvanize support...... It's as if we sometimes think that these technologies are somehow going to make everyone get along and cooperate. And instead what's happening is that it's creating a poison within the body politics of both sides, and it's going to be very difficult to walk this down because it's out there now."

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/03/social-media-poisoning-middle-east-politics/

It makes you have to wonder how much harm social media can cause, not just to one person, but to an entire country. Social media can be used to spread more violence and cause more harm then good. The worst part about it is that the information that people post on the web is out there for everyone to see and it will outlive even us. Maybe there is something that can be done in order to help limit the amount of harm that social media can cause. It seems that there might be a possible solution but it would have to come down to the individual user to help prevent social media from causing so much harm.

What do you guys think? Do you believe that social media causes more harm then good? Why or Why not? Is social media poison? Is there a way to prevent social media from causing more harm then good?

Twitter and Free Speech

"Saudi authorities have stepped up their crackdown on online dissidents, Human Rights Watch said, alleging that prosecutors and judges use "vague law" to charge citizens for peaceful tweets and social media comments.

The New York-based rights organisation on Sunday called on the government to end the crackdown and live up to its obligations to respect free speech.

Three prominent lawyers were convicted of criticising the Justice Ministry last month and sentenced to prison terms of between five and eight years." (Al Jazeera)

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/11/saudi-arabia-intensifies-twitter-crackdown-2014112363955848622.html

We all know that social media sites, such as Twitter, is a place were people can voice their opinions and tweet just about anything online, but what if you could not just tweet about anything online. What if the government prevented you from having your free speech online through your social media outlets. What would you do? Would you call it unfair or a violation of your freedom of speech?

Do you think that rules in the real world should apply to the virtual world as well?

In Saudi Arabia, the government has been cracking down on people who are opposing the government's official policy. Many people state that they are just peaceful tweets that they are just posting online that reflect their opinion. According to the government  they are instead violating a law that prevents people from posting tweets that go against the governments official policy. Several people have already been caught and prosecuted by the law for their online tweets against the official policy. 

Social Media Impact in the Middle East

"The Technology industry has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past few years, and it does not simply involve mobiles, tablets, laptops and other devices. Equally important, and perhaps less expected, is that social media networks allow for unprecedented connectivity and transparency and create a leveled playing field for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and young job seekers to pursue their aspirations.

Tremendous economic and social changes are underfoot, and social media is one of the most important leaps forward. Employment, entrepreneurship and SMEs in many regions are significantly influenced by internet connectivity and social media." (Labin)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-labin/in-the-arab-world-social-_b_6075866.html

Throughout this course we have learned many things about how social media is used to bring together people in various ways. We have also seen how social media has an impact on people and the society around them. Do you believe that social media has a greater impact in the United States or in another country? Based on the article above it appears to be having a greater impact with developing countries than the United States.

The reason being is that social media helps companies connect with people from all over the world in order to help promote their business and to also hire people for employment within their company. "According to a study revealed by Deloitte in 2014, extending internet access in developing countries to levels seen in developed countries today means that long-run productivity could be enhanced by as much as 25%. Entrepreneurship and SMEs have increasingly become a priority for governments in the region, who see these enterprises as key to solving the challenge of improving competitiveness, raising incomes, and generating employment." (Latin)

It is interesting to see how far social media has come and how it is able to help people find jobs and connect with employers. With this new way of using social media in developing countries we can expect to see an increase in the countries income and employment opportunities. Will this continue to help developing countries in the near future? Will social media be a great tool for business to be able to connect with people and find people for employment? Do you think that social media only helps developing countries or does it help all countries in general? Why or why not?

Campaigns in the Middle East

In recent weeks the class has been learning a lot about media campaigns, debates, and how the media interprets quotes by candidates in order to either use them against them or in favor of them. We see this happening a lot during elections in the United States but most of the time we don't see it happening anywhere else in the world. Most of the time this is do to the media coverage and what they want to report to the people. On the other hands some countries keep most of it hidden or closed off from the rest of the world as well. In a recent article, there is discussion about campaigns to remove the 'Temple Mount' from all the media maps.

The PLO, to which the Palestinian Authority is subservient, has escalated its campaign to remove all connection between Judaism and the site of the destroyed Holy Temples by appealing to international media to stop using the ”inaccurate term Temple Mount.”

“The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is not a disputed territory and all other terms, therefore, are null and void,” according to a PLO statement published by the official Palestinian Authority WAFA news agency.

It claimed that the Al Aqsa mosque has been under exclusive Muslim sovereignty and control since the construction of the Dome of the Rock in 692 CE, which is a blatant lie.

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/plo-campaigns-to-wipe-temple-mount-off-the-media-map/2014/11/09/

As the article mentions, the term 'Temple Mount' is inaccurate to use towards the Holy Temples and they are now using the international media in order to spread there message around the world for people to stop using that term. The Holy Temples has been an area of long dispute between Israel and Palestine because each of them claim that the Temple is for them and not for the others. This dispute has been going back for ages now and it seems it will continue on that way for years to come. How do you guys view the campaign being used in the international media? Do you think that it will help or not?

Rise in Social Media Popularity in the Middle East

For its most recent advertising push, the Saudi Arabian telecommunications giant Mobily did not turn to the street or television to engage with customers. Mobily paid to promote itself on Twitter.

The use of social media exploded during the Arab Spring as people turned to cyberspace to express themselves. On the back of that, social media networks, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, have moved into the region commercially, setting up offices to sell advertising products to companies like Mobily, which has over 200,000 Twitter followers, to capitalize on the growing audience.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/world/middleeast/social-media-firms-move-to-capitalize-on-popularity-in-middle-east.html?_r=0

This article that I found was very interesting in-regards to how the popularity of social media is growing within the Middle East. We have seen how social media has effected our society over the years. People use social media today in order to communicate with each other, express themselves, promote advertising, and so much more. Since the Arab Spring, social media has taken off in Saudi Arabia and in other places of the Middle East.

In last weeks and this weeks class we have been talking about advertising and how it is used in today's society as a tool for candidates and so much more. Advertising has been also in the Middle East in order to change the way advertising is presented in the Middle East. With the new era of advertising appearing, do to social media, we can see a new age appearing, not only in the Middle East, but all over the world.

According to the article people in Saudi Arabia are using social media, such as Twitter, more and more in order to communicate with each other. Major brand in Saudi Arabia, such as Pepsi Arabia, uses social media in order to promote their brand and advertise with everyone online. This helps them be able to keep up with the ever growing population of people using Twitter and other social media everyday. Do you think that our major brand companies use social media, as much as the brands in Saudi Arabia, to promote and advertise? Do you think that in the near future more and more brands are going to be turning to online media in order to advertise or are they going to continue to remain advertising through the newspaper and television?

Varied Media

The extremists who have seized large parts ofSyria and Iraq have riveted the world’s attention with their military prowess and unrestrained brutality. But Western intelligence services are also worried about their extraordinary command of seemingly less lethal weapons: state-of-the-art videos, ground images shot from drones and multilingual Twitter messages.

ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is using every contemporary mode of messaging to recruit fighters, intimidate enemies and promote its claim to have established a caliphate, a unified Muslim state run according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/world/middleeast/isis-displaying-a-deft-command-of-varied-media.html?_r=0

As we have been seeing in our class discussions and readings, social media, is a huge part of the everyday norm to people in today's society. Social media also presents a lot of different uses for different groups of people. As you can see from a section of the New York Times article above, ISIS is using social media as a way to get their message across to people all over the world. They are also using social media to recruit followers to their cause as well. 

From the article you can also see a video that is from an ISIS drone that over looks parts of the city of Falluja. It is very interesting how videos can be used  in order to recruit people and be able to pass messages along to people from all over the world with just a push of a the button in order to upload it to the internet.

Digitized War

We know that journalist use the media for, as it is mention in Graber, Muckraking such as simple muckraking, leaping impact muckraking, truncated muckraking, and minor role of public opinion. Yet journalist also use different tactics to help influence policies as well. Journalist act as political factors by acting as surrogates, mouthpieces, and chief framers. We know that Journalist use all of these techniques and so much more in order to report the news but they are not the only ones who use it.

"A group of mud-brick, single-room houses, flanked by lone palm trees, establishes the video clip, shot from higher ground. The scene then switches to a GoPro camera video feed. To the dramatic beat of anasheed music [religious or nationalist songs], balaclava-wearing fighters jump from a pick-up truck in a series of slow motion shots.

This is not, as some may first suspect, a video game. As you watch animated overlays of red targets tracking fleeing soldiers, what you are viewing is a surprise attack on a Yemeni army checkpoint. The ambush in the Heinan region of Hadramut Province in Yemen, is led, and recorded, by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters." (Cecco)

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/middle-east-digitised-battlefields-201471313481586137.html

Many groups in the Middle East are now using technology and certain forms of journalism in order to recruit new members, show people what they are doing, to deliver a message, and so much more. GoPro's which people use to record their white water rafting trip are now use to show the scenes of war that not even the media, in many countries, will show to the general public. 

"Twitter is often used to announce the deaths of fighters and update followers with victories in battle. Instagram is now the medium for mobile images of war. YouTube and LiveLeak are becoming increasingly important tools when staking out a strong social media presence." (Cecco)

Why do you believe that social media and journalism has evolved to this form? Do you think that we might eventually see it used in the U.S.? 

Social Media Revolutions

Social media has been causing change all over the world and it appears to not be slowing down anytime soon. Now more and more people use social media than resent times. Social media can be used for so much, from keeping in touch with people, to online dating sites, and so much more. Social media is not just seen as a place for people to have fun online anymore but it is also a tool to help bring people together to form revolutions. 

We have seen a huge increase in recent years with the use of social media in the Middle East and North Africa. According to an article written about social media in MENA,

 "An estimated 94% of social media users in MENA are on Facebook, which adds up to 56 million active Facebook users in the region. So what about other social media platforms? They’re pretty active, too. About 3.8 million social media users log in to Twitter each day, tweeting 73% of their posts in Arabic and 17% in English. What’s more astonishing is that YouTube attracts 285 million users in MENA each day – that’s the 2^nd highest regional consumption worldwide. "
http://wayvs.com/2014/05/15/social-media-mena/

Social Media in MENA has changed rapidly and it has caused for many revolutions in different parts of the Middle East and North Africa to the point that people all over the world become aware of the revolution and other things occurring in a particular country. Below is a article that talks about the many different types of revolutions that have occurred in the Middle East and North Africa, take a look and tell me what you think about all the revolutions.

http://www.tednguyenusa.com/social-media-ignites-revolutions-in-middle-east-and-north-africa/

Do you think that social media's pros out weight their cons? Can you see social media being used for more than just a tool for revolutions or any other day to day activities? Do you believe that social media will eventually be faded out in exchange for something newer in the near future?

Social Media War

Social Media has changed tremendously over the years and it appears that it will continue to changes more rapidly in the future. With social media changing it takes a lot for people and the government to continue to adapt to the changes. Social media is now used to communicate with people from all over the world. We can share events that are happening anywhere in the world in a blink of an eye by simply posting and post of Facebook, a Blog, a tweet on Twitter, and so much more. Many people also use social media to keep up to date with the news because media outlets now have their own websites that give people greater movement, diversity, and community. Social media provides us with a lot of diversity because journalist can post what ever they want online because of the vast amount of space that the web provides unlike the newspaper which has a limited amount of space and really is not adapt to satisfy everyones different opinions and viewpoints. It also provides greater movement because, unlike a newspaper where you read a column and then move to the next or flip to the next page, online sources have different categories of news to choose from, different locations all over the world to choose from, and so much more. Last of all social media helps to keep a community going because it helps keep people informed about what is happening in their home towns by just accessing the media outlet online that is associated with their home town. 

With all these different changes that social media brings we have also seen a change in how the government tends to use social media as well. In a recent article it talks about how the U.S. government is fighting ISIS with social media by putting out videos on the internet to deter people from joining ISIS, these videos are being used to counteract the videos the ISIS has been using in order to recruit people to their cause. The government has also taken action by finding the site that followers of ISIS use and shutting them down. The article calls is "a game of whack a mole."

Social media sites around the world have been trying to crack down on postings from radical jihadists. At one point, ISIS followers fled to a Russian Facebook competitor, VK.com.

But, this week, that site also started blocking ISIS activity, so instead of displaying an official ISIS page, followers now get an error message.

It's a game of digital whack-a-mole. As soon as one is shut down, another pops up under a new account or on a different site.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/combating-isis-online-campaign-a-game-of-digital-whack-a-mole/

It is interesting to see how social media can be used for recruitment by anyone now and how it can also be used as a tool for war. My question to you then class, is how do you feel about the changes of Social Media turning in these's directions? It is harmful or good for society? Do you think that social media will hang even more in the near future?

Changing from Newspapers to Virtual Newspapers

"Audiences in the Middle East and North Africa prefer online video content over written news, and value trust and quality over the speed of news delivery, according to a report commissioned by the Associated Press (AP), released today." (Albeanu)

http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/ap-report-video-is-the-prefered-medium-for-news-in-middle-east-and-north-africa/s2/a562565/

In todays society we have seen a huge change from the media. They have went from just delivering local newspapers to airing on television for people to watch. This goes in sync with the fact that over the recent years technology has advanced tremendously. But how far has the media changed in recent years? Has it changed to the point that we have more trust in the media or have we lost some of that trust with recent changes in the media? Do you prefer getting the news instantaneously or do you prefer to wait and have all the facts or pieces of information investigated to prove whether something is true or not?

In a recent article that I found it talks about a study conducted in MENA that shows that people in the Middle East and North Africa prefer to obtain their news through online sources instead of hard copies of newspapers, yet they also want the news sources to not report the news faster but make sure the quality, of hat they are reporting, is above standards. I found this to be very interesting because it not only shows how fast the media has changed with the advancement in technology but it also shows how much technology, media, and politics are influencing people in different parts of the world. "The study, called 'Spring Tide: The new era for video news in the Middle East and North Africa', found that 69 per cent of those who consume news online thought watching video content was the best way to access fair and impartial news." (Albeanu)

From what we have learned in class, many people in todays society have been using the internet more and more in order to get the news. Many of them come across news outlets and breaking stories through a friends Facebook page or even a twitter post. Most people only get their news information from online sources which most of the time is more bias than other news articles. As W. Lance Bennett stated, in our book, "American journalism may have become trapped within an unworkable set of professional standards, with the result that the more objective or fair reporters try to be, the more officials bias they introduce into the news." (Bennett 159) Even though I do believe that the media sometimes ttys so hard not to be bias and therefore end up being bias anyways I also believe there are other factor involved that can cause bias as well. I believe that factors in the organization cause bias as well. As Graber and Dunaway mentioned, "Every news organization has its own internal power structure that develops from the interaction of owners, journalists, news sources, audiences, advertisers, and government authorities." (Graber and Dunaway 108) My question to all of you is, do you believe that online media sources are less bias and more impartial and fair then other news media?

Virtual Change

So far we have talked about how the media and politics interact with each other. We have also seen how menu people use social media today for a variety of things. We use social media to communicate with each other through Facebook and Twitter. We use social media to be able to keep up with what is happening in the world, to surf the web, gather information for research, watch videos, play music, and so much more. The question that I have is this, does social media have a huge impact in other countries outside of the United States? How do other countries use social media?

In a recent article written in the Economist, on September 13, 2014, there was talk about how social media has become a sort of, 'virtual revolution' in Saudi Arabia.

TUNE into one of Saudi Arabia’s television channels and you are likely to find a stuffy report praising the government or a sheikh spinning a dreary sermon. Little wonder that so many Saudis turn to YouTube and other online broadcasters for light relief. That has led to the emergence of new media companies, mainly in the more liberal coastal city of Jeddah, dedicated to amusing the kingdom’s growing population.

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21617064-why-social-media-have-greater-impact-kingdom-elsewhere-virtual?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/avirtualrevolution

This article is very interesting because it chows how social media has had a huge impact on a nation and their people. They use social media to watch videos, tweet and reply using Twitter, and Facebook to communicate and keep in touch with friends. As one Professor mentioned that he uses Twitter in order to inform his students that they have a new assignment to complete. This just shows how social media has advanced so much in recent times because now we have Professors communicating with students through the use of social media. It is very interesting how social media can be used this way, positively, to where people can use it to keep in touch with even their professors.

Just like our book mention, during President Obama's first campaign, he used social media tremendously in order to get himself out their in the world. He wanted people to see him as an actual person and not just another politician. This is another way social media is used a helping to change the world around us. It is used for campaigning and also for people to keep in touch with their favorite celebrities. For example, back in 2010, while on her world tour, P!nk was injured during her concert in Germany. Before the news reporters were able to find out what the status was on her injuries, P!nk posted on Twitter for all her fans to see that she was fine. This is yet another example of how social media is now used in the world today. In your opinion, how do you think social media has changed the world? What other countries has social media had a huge impact in as well?

Hard News vs. Soft News

So far, in our class, we have been learning a lot about how the media and politics interact with each other. In our recent class module we have been learning about soft news, hard news, and bias within the different media outlets. What I found very interesting is how often "soft" news is used more so in the coverage of a news station or newspaper. "Hard news refers to coverage of breaking events involving top leaders, major issues, or significant disruptions in the routines of daily life, such as an earthquake or airline disaster."(Patterson 3) While soft news is considered any "information about these events is presumably important to citizens’ ability to understand and respond to the world of public affairs.12 News that is not of this type is, by definition, “soft.”" (Patterson 3) From what I have noticed from all the newspapers and news networks is that the hard news or policy-related news has decreased over time. The only time it seems to really make an appearance is during any elections or during a major crises, such as ISIS in the Middle East.

There is an interesting article that I happened to stumble upon while looking through several online media sources that interested me and related back to the class lessons. The article is about a video that apparently the State Department released in response to the video's that ISIS has been posting on the web for everyone to see. The video is said to be a message to stop people from joining ISIS.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/09/state-department-enters-propaganda-war-with-isis/
The State Department is launching a tough and graphic propaganda counteroffensive against the Islamic State, using some of the group's own images of barbaric acts against fellow Muslims to undercut its message. 

The reason why this article was interesting is because of how much the Middle East has been talked about by the media and politics lately. Most of the information I would consider hard news because is falls in the category of major issues right now. I also saw how this article related to one of my previous post. This article basically is showing how the government uses sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube in order to communicate with the general public and to deliver, in the case of this article, messages to people as well. Anyways let me ask you guys a few questions. Do you guys prefer soft news or hard news? Do you think there is a good balance of both being aired? Do you think that one day soft news and hard news will still be around or do you think that it will change into something different?

Messages through Social Media?

I often find myself wondering where the world would be at right now without the Internet and Social Media? Would World Leaders still be waiting for information to be decrypted through decryption specialist or would they be waiting for that one important phone call? Social Media has become a tool for, not just citizens, but even groups and organizations to use in order to be able to communicate with the rest of the world. Even now social media is used to communicate with activist groups so they can know what is happening right now, in-ragards to the change they are fighting for. Social Media is also used to communicate with leaders. As it is mentioned in "Millennials & Activism," "According to some observers, the Internet may have considerable potential to reach and engage opinion leaders who influence the thinking and behavior of others." (Logothetis) 

In the recent news their has been another video posted by ISIS stating that they have killed Steven Sotloff. As New York Times authors, Mark Landler and Eric Schmitt wrote;

WASHINGTON — An Islamic militant group released a video on Tuesday showing the second beheading of an American hostage in two weeks and blamed President Obama for the killing. The video raised the pressure on the president to order military strikes on the group in its sanctuary in Syria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/03/world/middleeast/steven-sotloff-isis-execution.html?_r=1

The online article shows how even groups from all over the world can use social media to get their message out to other countries and their world leaders. ISIS used social media in order to deliver their messages to President Obama and the world on what they wanted. 

This relates to our studies on how social media such as videos posted on the web can be used to communicate with people all over the world. I believe that social media can be used to help the public sphere develop their own opinions based on what they are able to obtain through the media and conversations on social media. They can share their views and opinions on the political side and use online sources to get petitions signed. On the other hand, social media can be a very dangerous tool, as we see in the link above. Social media can be used to send messages and cause unrest within a society towards their government or other organizations. 

As we can see from the news article the video has done a lot of harm around the world, from all the articles written about the video, because it was broadcasted on social media for everyone to see even though the government is trying to block people from viewing the video. Here is a question that I have for the class. Do you feel like social media is more harmful to the government in today's society or more helpful in today's society? Why?

One Story, Two Different Media Sources

This is my first actual blog post for my mass media and politics class. I look forward to seeing how my blog interests with develop over this semester and possibly further on. Until then, lets begin. With so much happening in the middle east in recent weeks it is no surprise that every media source has something to say, but have you ever wondered why almost every media source tells you something different about an event? Why are some details left out of one media source but revealed in another? Could this information be false or something else altogether?

I often find myself wondering why certain media outlets only reveal some of the news happening over in the middle east and the question leads back to the politicians. The government, in regards to its relationship with the media, is very different in many ways. The media or journalist tend to go to a government official with power and ask them about what is currently happening. After speaking with that one official that generally is it before the media tells their audience. Is talking to one or two people enough to get all the details? Maybe, maybe not. I know that politics won't reveal everything that is happening because some of it is classified, but it would be nice to know the truth and not just bits and pieces of it. It seems like people would have to watch multiple media sources in order to get the story that they are trying to listen too.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/08/25/account-used-to-post-foley-execution-video-identified-by-investigators/

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/08/24/newday-walsh-manhunt-for-james-foley-killer.cnn.html

In the links provided above are two different videos from Fox News and CNN about the hunt for James Foley's killer. After watching both videos you can clearly see a different in information being filtered to both news sources. Fox news talks about a possible suspect to the case while CNN news talks about how the governments of both the U.S. and U.K. are trying to identify the person in the video through voice and eye recognition software. It is very interesting how two different media sources provide to very different clues to this still developing story.

While keeping up with this developing story I have found other news sources that continue to have little tidbits of information that other media outlets did not have. Therefore I have often wondered, (as I asked earlier in this post), why does every news source have to have different information or almost similar stories except for a few bits and pieces here and there? Maybe I am just over thinking it but after reading several sections in our books for this class I can see how it ties into the media and politics in today's society.

My blog for mass media and politics is on the different coverages of military/politics in the middle east. I find it interesting to see how different media sources give different information on a specific story or crises happening over seas.
The background shows a globe of the world to inform the viewers that this blog deals with media and politics coverage in the middle east and other parts of the world. I hope to use this blog to show the differences and similarities between the media and politics, and to also show what I am learning in my mass media and politics class. This will allow me to better understand media and politics in todays world.
Through this blog I am hoping to be able to see how different media outlets present their audience with information that they obtain through politics and other sources. I am also hoping to be able to post news articles and showing how the relate to information that we are learning about in the class and to also just have a great semester.