Iran Elections Cyberwar Guide: Tips for Digital Resistance

by cyn.khoo | June 16, 2009 at 10:45 am

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Recent events developing from the Iran elections have shown a stark disconnect between the mainstream media and online social media in events coverage and where people are now turning to for their news.

The developments in the use of the web to share, access, edit and discuss information about the crisis in Iran show just how modern news organizations are failing to deliver news in the way the public want to seek it.
Iranians and observers abroad are using right this minute Twitter, blogs, Flickr and YouTube to share information about what is happening within Iran at a speed that has left mainstream media off-foot.

As major networks such as BBC and MSNBC failed to cover the Iran elections and subsequent developments adequately, if at all--a fact immortalized by the now ubiquitous #CNNfail hashtag--platforms such as Twitter truly came into their own, breaking stories and distributing news as it happened from inside of Iran. Only after Twitter emerged as the main source of information regarding Iran elections did the mainstream media follow.

The power of Twitter's newsbreaking and information dissemination was acknowledged when Twitter postphoned its scheduled site shut-down maintenance due to pressure from its community. The morning of Tuesday, June 16, the U.S. State Department officially asked Twitter to remain up for the Iran Election.

In the face of the Iranian government crackdown on social media in Iran to prevent such communications, the online social media community has thrown its support behind the Iranian people.

Refer to the following Iran cyberwar guide to avoid inadvertently helping the Iranian government with their crackdown rather than the protesters fighting for their votes:

From BoingBoing:

1. Do NOT publicize Iran proxies over Twitter. The Iranian government will find and block them.

If you are creating new proxies for the Iranian bloggers, DM them to @stopAhmadi or @iran09 and they will distributed them discretely to bloggers in Iran.

2. Beware of fake accounts. Iran security forces are posing as Iranian protesters to spread misinformation. Confirm with reliable sources before retweeting.

3. Change your Twitter location and time zone settings to Tehran, GMT +3.30. You will provide cover for Iran bloggers since that is how they are being searched for.

4. Use only hashtags #iranelection and #gr88.

5. If you discover a genuine source communicating from inside Iran, don't announce it publicly. You will blow their cover, so spread the word discreetly.

For more on Iran elections (from BBC News):

Dramatic images of protesters, rallies, voters, and post-election scenes from inside Iran are being published across the web, on platforms and websites such as Tehranlive.org.

Images are also available on Flickr's general Iran feed and photographs of election protests in London are available here.

This Picasa album depicts striking images of protests and disorder on the streets of Tehran.

The Huffingpost Post is live-blogging events in Iran, with similar news updates provided by the Guardian and New York Times. Developments are also being followed by Seattle's Andrew Sullivan and Tehran Bureau.

Finally, people are showing solidarity with Iranian voters on Facebook by changing their profile pictures green, the colour of the movement for reform in Iran.

UPDATE: As of approximately 11:30am Tuesday morning (June 16), BoingBoing, site of the original Iran cyberwar guide, has been shut down.

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politisite

at 10:57 on June 16th, 2009

Good story

Pythiian1

at 13:41 on June 16th, 2009

Good piece, Cyn.Khoo.

cyn.khoo

at 13:50 on June 16th, 2009

Thanks so much--please help distribute it or similar ones if you can, as the events happening in Iran right now are so important and people need to know what's going on.

Pythiian1

at 14:12 on June 16th, 2009

I've been including information as responses in the NP pieces on Iran.

There are definitely some misinformation spread on Twitter sent by alleged government and supporters of Ahmadinejad. Apparently, the message is to be careful about RT and to check via DM with some reliable Iranian expats who can verify.

Tehran University's upcoming list of exams remains unchanged, i.e. students are expected to sit their exams.

Pythiian1

at 14:56 on June 16th, 2009

There is an international effort by Iranian expats to protest. The site is in Farsi and minimal English.

Roy C

at 14:05 on June 16th, 2009

Wow, this is truly amazing.

This is exactly what Alvin Toffler was talking about in Power Shift.

From supermarkets not having to bow to major corporations about shelf space to the revolution in Iran, this is what happens when technology allows direct participation.

The Internet has shifted how I see the news media. I am aware of stories and have already discussed them before CNN, FOX, and radio guys get to them. That lack of relative importance has really been brought out in this situation.

And, they don't seem so special anymore, just better connected.

I remember a conversation I had in a gym in Milan in the '90s with a correspondent for Reuters or AP. He said they were worried because with the Internet, anyone could set up a news agency, as it were. Now the fruit of that is very, very ripe.

On the level of politics, the results are in: the mullahs are going to have to cede power back to the people or face real continuous rebellion.