Post-Arab Spring, citizen journalists struggle

Three years have passed since the Arab Spring, when popular uprisings broke out against authoritarian governments across the Middle East. As state-controlled outlets ignored popular protests at the time, citizens from Tunisia and Egypt to Morocco and Syria turned to the Internet, where independent bloggers provided the most trustworthy coverage of what was happening in the streets. Since then, however, ideological splits have overtaken that digital space and rendered citizen blogging and journalism less and less credible, according to participants at the 4th Arab Bloggers Meeting, a gathering of about 70 activists and journalists held in Amman.

“Most bloggers are suspected of being local parties’ agents,” Tunisian activist Malek Khadraoui said. And with no guarantee of professionalism among citizen journalists, Arab audiences are left to choose between state-controlled official media and a cacophony of online voices, with little means to discern which ones to trust. At the same time, governments and parties have infiltrated the blogosphere, paying to pit opinions against each other as part of their larger power struggle. “If you search #Syria, for example, you’ll see people bombarding the internet,” said Bahraini journalist Amira Al Hussaini. “There are e-armies, online mercenaries.” Those who resist ideological affiliation are pressured and arrested, participants said. Conference attendees paid tribute to both Abdel Fattah and Khartabil throughout the week, sending out tweets, videos, and photos demanding their release.