City Research Online

Abstract

Social media platforms, primarily Facebook and Twitter, were once hailed as agents of change, facilitating the ousting of long-standing dictators and authoritarian regimes in several Arab countries during the waves of uprising in 2011. They were identified as catalysts for a new public sphere – an emerging space where democratic change could be communicated and realised. However, this vision has largely faded. Social media platforms have increasingly become spaces where various state and non-state actors, political opponents, and even audiences, intimidate journalists and activists. Many Arab journalists are subjected to targeted disinformation campaigns that generate online hate speech, harassment and sexual abuse. Threats to their safety and that of their families have forced many to resort to self-censorship in their reporting. Arab female journalists, in particular, have become the most vulnerable to such attacks. Through 30 interviews, this paper investigates social media’s impact on the daily news work of Arab journalists in two Arab countries, Egypt and Lebanon. It examines how journalists assess the role of social media in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings, the types of intimidation they experience online – including trolling, violence and hate speech – and identifies the main actors behind such campaigns.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Open access under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND licence.
Publisher Keywords:	Arab journalism, social media, Lebanon, Egypt, trolls, electronic committees, electronic armies, online violence
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity School of Communication & Creativity > Journalism
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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