Question

in what ways did the media help the world to achieve democracy

Answer 1

It was unusual for Yemeni citizens to find an authority figure who provided them with updated information on armed conflict through social media. On the day of the coup d’etat in the capital city Sana’a, the Houthi rebels also took over state media and prevented journalists from reporting on what was going on.

It was early morning on 19 January 2015 when residents of the city woke up to loud explosions and heavy gunfire. Windows shattered as buildings near the Presidential Palace shook while the Special Guards protecting the palace resisted the Houthi attacks for hours. Fear kept citizens indoors and the streets were deserted. Rumours spread like wildfire among Sana’a residents, while the state TV showed an old documentary and the national radio broadcasted entertaining songs as if nothing unusual had happened. Private news media competed in delivering information based on guesswork, word of mouth and a few eye-witnesses.

Tweeting the news

As Minister of Information, it was my duty to inform the public. However, the Houthis prevented journalists from following my instructions. That was when I decided to use my personal Twitter account and, in Arabic and English, tell Yemenis and the world in detail, minute by minute, what was going on during that unfortunate day.

Hence, the nickname. In a matter of hours, my Twitter followers jumped from 5,000 to close to 20,000 despite the fact that the country’s internet penetration did not exceed 20%, according to Internet World Stats of June 2014. During that unfortunate day I realized the power of social media and the hunger that Yemenis have for credible information.

We read and preach about the freedom of press, transparency and people’s right to information, but on that day I realized how significant these things truly are in times of crises. Not only for the sake of conveying information about historic events but also critical information concerning safety and relief; telling people when it is safe to go out to the streets and which areas are dangerous and what precautions they should take.

Social media activists

I remember the Arab Spring of 2011, which was also called the Facebook revolution. That could have been true for Egypt or Tunisia, but it was certainly not accurate for Yemen because just a few months before the start of Yemen’s protests internet penetration did not exceed 2%. The internet was used by an elite group to do business, communicate with the world and conduct research. For a small group of urban youth, the internet was also used as a source of entertainment. News websites were a cheap method political parties used to discredit their rivals rather than provide accurate information, and social media was used simply for that; social interaction.

However, picking up on the vibes coming from the west of the Red Sea, Yemeni youth used their Facebook accounts to present their political positions and demands for change way before the opposition political parties came on board. They used social media to create political events, design and disseminate resistance logos, banners and slogans and to lobby support. The anonymity of social media also allowed for female activists to participate and gain exposure. Many women went online disguised as men or created gender-neutral profiles to join a Facebook political group or be part of the change that took about a year to materialize.

One of the interesting anecdotes I heard first-hand at the time was about a university student who said she had been using the internet behind her traditional parent’s back. Her father, who worked as construction worker, believed that the internet was a western evil aimed at corrupting Yemeni youth. The student was living in the middle of what became known as Change Square, the resistance area of Sana’a’s Arab Spring, and every day over meals she would update her family on what was happening around them. Impressed by her knowledge, her father asked where she found all this information and she said Facebook. She told me that her father asked her: “Can you ask Facebook whether there will be a protest today in our street so I know if I can go to work or not?” Ironically, she did “ask Facebook” and was informed that the protest would take place in the afternoon so her father safely made it to work that day.

Answer 2

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Media has given political parties the tools to reach large numbers of people and can inform them on key issues ranging from policies to elections. In theory, media should be seen as an enabler for democracy, having better-educated voters would lead to a more legitimate government.