A Minaret Ban and "Climate-gate" Stir Online Discussions

Two distinct controversies drove the online commentary last week. A decision by voters in Switzerland to ban the building of minarets, distinctive structures associated with Islamic mosques, earned the most attention in the blogosphere. And in the run-up to the climate summit in Copenhagen, global warming skeptics continued to dominate the blogosphere debate. Last week, that subject also gained major traction on Twitter. From November 30-December 4, 17% of the links in blogs were about the Swiss referendum, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. While a few commentators applauded the vote as a stand against radical Islam, most expressed disappointment that the country would support a move they perceived as intolerant and divisive.