LGBT radio goes online in Tunisia despite threats

Daily Nation, LGBT radio goes online in Tunisia despite threats, 19 Dec 2017 "An online radio station catering for the LGBT community, believed to be the first of its kind in the Arab world, started broadcasting in Tunisia on Monday." Just picked up this from last month.

The myth of the Facebook revolution

Niklas Kossow and Ilyas Saliba, qantara.de, The myth of the Facebook revolution "Today, six years after the so-called Facebook revolutions of the Arab Spring, the hopes once placed in the social media have largely vanished. Authoritarian regimes in the region have long since succeeded in taking control of these channels and using them for their own ends."

'Terrorists Exploit Social Networks'

Magharebia, Imrane Binoual, eurasiareview.com, Terrorists Exploit Social Networks "Videos, audio recordings, messages and speeches from terrorist organisations blanket YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Maghreb extremists have embraced the virtual arena, using online networks to attract recruits and spread propaganda."

A Woman Blogger’s Scoop Helped Save Tunisia From Islamists

A Woman Blogger’s Scoop Helped Save Tunisia From Islamists - The Daily Beast "The most famous investigative reporter in Tunisia is a 32-year-old blogger named Olfa Riahi. She broke the country’s biggest post-revolutionary news story—known as Sheratongate –and helped to save the country’s liberal revolution from the Islamists. When Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa met with President Barack Obama on Friday he was promised $500 million in loan guarantees and heard America’s enduring commitment to Tunisia’s democratic transition. But without Riahi, that transition might have come to a dead end."

Broken promises: New media revolution in the Arab world

Enrico De Angelis, Broken promises: New media revolution in the Arab world - Opinion - Al Jazeera English "The events of the last three years have indeed showed some limits of these forms of communication and their political implementations. In Egypt and Tunisia, social networks proved to be powerful instruments for mobilisation and for expressing dissent under Mubarak and Ben Ali, but they are much less effective in more articulated political systems where institutional processes such as elections take place. We know how to use new media to react and to exert pressure on authorities, but we don't know yet how to make them suitable for developing long-term political projects and for competing with parties and other more structured organisations."

Rapper imprisoned

freemuse, Tunisia: Freemuse condemns imprisonment of rapper Weld El 15 [tip: CyberOrient] "Weld El 15 (also spelled Oueld El 15, “The 15-Year-Old Boy”) was originally given a two-year sentence in June 2013 for his song ‘The Police Are Dogs’. His legal team denied that Weld El 15 should have sung the song at the concert in the resort of Hammamet."

Tunisia: Feminist activist threatened, placed in psychiatric hospital

Tunisia: Feminist activist threatened, placed in psychiatric hospital - Examiner.com  "In Tunisia, a 19-year-old feminist activist has been threatened with death and placed in a psychiatric hospital after posting topless photos of herself to the Femen-Tunisian Facebook page."

Tunisia blogger jailed for “insulting Islam”

bikyanews, Tunisia blogger jailed for “insulting Islam”, 13 Mar 2013 "Tunisia should mark its national day of internet freedom on 13 March by releasing immediately and unconditionally 28-year-old blogger Jabeur Meiri, who has been in prison for more than a year, Amnesty International said."

New and noted: From TUNeZINE to Nhar 3la 3mmar: A Reconsideration of the Role of Bloggers in Tunisia’s Revolution

Amy Aisen Kallander, arabmediasociety.com, From TUNeZINE to Nhar 3la 3mmar: A Reconsideration of the Role of Bloggers in Tunisia’s Revolution This looks like a useful article, which is also very topical at present.

Tunisia, a Sad Year Later

NYTimes.com, Tunisia, a Sad Year Later -

Cyber-Activism in Tunisia

Cyber-Activism in Tunisia: What is the ‘Obscene’ Trying to Tell Us? | Mideast Youth: "In Tunisia, cyber protest became active in the late nineties, when the internet first became available to the masses, but also at a time when Ben Ali’s regime was exerting its most austere repressive practices. At that time, a small fraction of activists opted for a form of dissent that is characterised by obscenity. By obscenity I mean that which is defined as morally inappropriate and flagged as vulgar, or as violating the codes of moral rectitude. It often involves sexual metaphors, allusions to sexual organs and sexual lewdness in both writing and visual art (particularly caricature and photoshopped art). The use of this language is becoming more and more pervasive among the sphere of bloggers and users of social networks, the largest majority of whom are university students, journalists and intellectuals."

'Hackers claim they've snared Tunisian leader's emails'

Reuters, Hackers claim they've snared Tunisian leader's emails "A group claiming affiliation with the Anonymous hacker network says it has obtained 2,725 emails belonging to Tunisia's ruling Ennahda party, including those of the prime minister."

'Egypt's Revolutionary Music'

Huffington Post, Egypt's Revolutionary Music, And 7 Other Revolutions That Turned To Song (AUDIO) "The songs of the Arab Spring draw on hip-hop, rap, rock, pop and more, vividly capturing the frustration, anger, and hope of the countries they originate within. And in those countries, releasing such songs at all is itself an act of rebellion."

Tunisia 'caliphate' discussion

Reuters Canada, Tunisia Islamist causes outcry with "caliphate" talk, 15 Nov 2011 "Footage posted on the Internet showed Hamadi Jbeli, the secretary-general of the Ennahda party, telling supporters that "We are in the sixth caliphate, God willing."

Tunisian election 2011: protesters demand freedom of speech - video

Guardian, Tunisian election 2011: protesters demand freedom of speech - video

 

'The Life Cycle of a Refugee Camp Along the Tunisia-Libya Border'

Emily Parker, tunisia-live.net, The Life Cycle of a Refugee Camp Along the Tunisia-Libya Border, 5 Oct 2011 "Satellite dishes adorn dozens of tents, and one refugee that we encountered was checking his Facebook page using an “Internet Everywhere” USB key— apparently “everywhere” extends to refugee camps in the middle of the desert. "As we wandered among the rows of tents, melodies of Lady Gaga blasted from some and mixed with regional music booming from others."

Nawaat.org

Yasmine Ryan, aljazeera.net, Tunisia's dissident blog stays true to form, 13 May 2011: "During the media blackout imposed as the uprising took hold of Tunisia in December and January, Nawaat.org [French/Arabic] was one of the most reliable sources of information, offering images and video showing what was happening on Tunisian streets. "

Useful overview of Nawaat.org, a significant channel in Tunisia.

'The slap that sparked a revolution'

The Observer, The slap that sparked a revolution, 15 May 2011 "The Arab spring was triggered in Tunisia when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after claiming he was slapped by policewoman Fedia Hamdi. But as Elizabeth Day discovers, revolutions create their own myths."

'How Social Media Changed Arab Resistance'

Sohail Dahdal, newmatilda.com, How Social Media Changed Arab Resistance, 4 Mar 2011
"The rise of social media made a set of online tools for revolution readily available and accessible to the largest demographic in the Middle East — youth. Put a powerful tool of communication in the hands of a handful of highly motivated, highly educated activists with the potential to reach the largest and most important demographic of the society and add to it the spark of what happened in Tunisia — and you have the perfect storm.

"There is no doubt that social media played a major role in the recent revolts but equally looking at the current events unfolding there are clear indicators that social media will only ever be a tool of organising. The streets are the place where revolutions can create facts on the ground."

Tunisian rap