The Role of New Media in the Arab Revolutions (2011-2012)

The Arab world has certainly witnessed the big events and changes in 2011 and early 2012. The wave of pro-democracy movements، anti-authoritarianism and Islamic Awakinism have been swept through it and reached to a turning point with the resignation Yemeni dictator، Ali Abdullah Saleh in January 2012. In fact، these events were the sign of rebirth of courage and political maturity in the people of those countries. They have revolted against authoritarianism، corruption، political inheritance and discrimination in their countries. Meanwhile، we should not disregard the role of digital and social media as a facilitator of those revolutions. Since the eruption of revolution in the Arab countries، much have been written about the role of mass media like TVs، satellite TV Channels، newspapers، and also digital or social media like internet websites and virtual connecting networks such as Face book، Twitter and etc. To be sure، the role of people in fulfilling of the revolutions is undeniable، but we cannot ignore the effective role of digital media in prosperousness of revolutions. New digital media are being counted as one of the most important factors of the revolutions، because of their role in informing people، sharing the news and spreading freedom and anti-authoritarian thoughts. This article analyzes the role of new media in mobilizing people in the Arab Spring and its aftermaths. It tries to answer this question in descriptive and analytical style:” what is the main role of new digital media in erupting the Arab Spring?”