In the technologically savvy climate of the 21st century, social media has won increased influence on the international scene. In recent weeks, social media has helped to raise millions of dollars for Haiti earthquake relief and has shed light onto the censorship practices of China. In Iran, the blog-osphere has also proven to be a primary means of communication for dissidents. As the influence of grass roots media continues to rise, governments around the world will intensify pressures to expurgate information. As international freedom declines and censorship rises, social media will continue to play a primary role in the exchange of information.
In January, Freedom House released their annual "Freedom in the World" report, which shows a continued decline in world freedom for a fourth consecutive year. Freedom House, a human rights non-profit organization centered in New York, seeks to measure relative political liberties among nations. Freedom House rates nations on a one to seven (most freedoms to least) scale, Freedom House ranks nations as "Free," "Partly Free" or "Not Free" in comparison to other nations.
In the 40-year record of the survey, this four-year decline constitutes the longest slide in international autonomy ever reported. These declines stem from a rise in violent political suppression, global terrorism and other renegade violence around the world. In particular, Freedom House noted the upheaval in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, as well as political suppression in China, Venezuela and Russia. The survey, which studies 194 nations and 14 territories, illuminated the often volatile nature of international affairs. As of 2010, the survey measured a total of 89 nations, or 43 percent of world nations as "Free." Furthermore, 58 nations were classified as "Partly Free" and 47 nations as "Not Free."
Freedom House also saw a rise in authoritarianism and political suppression in 40 countries. Another survey released by Freedom House in 2009 indicated that global freedom of the press has also declined for seven straight years. The political climates and economic stress of modern times only increases the potential for media influence and censorship. North African, East Asian, and Middle Eastern countries in particular have shown significant declines in press freedoms.
Freedom House research director Arch Puddington indicated that the drop in global freedom has a diverse set of causes: "First, I think it is due to the influence of countries like Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran serving as role models of 21st-century authoritarianism." Puddington also indicated that the decline in civil society and civic organizations contributed to the slump: "Some countries see civil-society organizations as challenging the old establishment and political parities. That's why we're seeing more action against dissidents, civil-society groups and even actions taken against bloggers."
Despite these government restrictions, social media is curbing the international rise of censorship. For example, in January, Google threatened to stop self-censorship and shut down its China Google.cn site in response to a "highly sophisticated and targeted" cyber attack by China. Google claimed that during this cyber-attack, China hacked into the Google e-mail accounts of over twenty human rights activists located in Europe, the United States and China. During a news conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu denied the claims: "I stress that China's Internet is open." Google was allowed to open sites in China in 2006 to reach China's over 300 million Internet users, but only if it agreed to self-censor information returned in its search engine. Scores of search terms, such as "Tiananmen Square," "Falun Gong" and "democracy" have been continuously censored. Despite the enormous financial potential of China, Google has decided to reconsider self-censorship. If not permitted to operate an uncensored search engine, Google may leave China. For many Chinese internet users, Google's announcement is met with despair as censorship and oppression continue to rise. Google should be commended for its decision to deny future censorship by the Chinese government despite probable financial losses.\nFurthermore, social media's influence on the 2010 Haiti earthquake disaster was both profound and efficient. Within days, people from across the globe were able to help survivors of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake with a click of their mouse. Relief teams were quickly organized and social sites such as Twitter and Facebook enabled the rapid spread of information. Families were able to reunite with lost loved ones and over $10 million has already been raised by a global text message fundraising campaign.
In perhaps the most provocative display of social media's newfound influence, the Iranian Presidential election in the summer of 2009 demonstrated the impact of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. People from across the globe were able to witness the Iranian protests, as well as brutal slayings of innocent civilians, such as Neda, whose death was watched by millions on YouTube. Despite the cruel censorship efforts of the Iranian government, the world witnessed the election upheaval first hand from home computers and television sets.
Despite a decline in global freedom and a rise censorship, international and social media have assumed a prominent role in combating oppression. Even so, the United States and other influential nations should embrace foreign policies that do not pursue diplomacy at the expense of human rights. Together, the influence of social media and government activism will undermine pervasive human rights violations.
Ashley Chappo's column appears on Fridays. She can be reached at a.chappo@cavalierdaily.com
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