[Air-L] Subversive Twitter: Cuban Spring à la ZunZuneo

[Aziz Douai]

Thanks, Mathieu.  I agree that this is not something new.  It is just the
sheer-scale and deniability of it that is mind-boggling.

I guess I should not protest too much given Snowden's revelation about NSA
surveillance worldwide.

Aziz


On Thu, Apr 3, 2014 at 8:05 PM, Mathieu.O'Neil <
mathieu.oneil at canberra.edu.au> wrote:

> Hi Aziz
>
> Don't have much to contribute (Radio Free Europe was beamed at the Soviet
> satellites etc so it looks like US spooks are keeping up with the times)
> but I just wanted to thank you for bringing this interesting piece to our
> attention.
>
> cheers,
>
> Mathieu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org [mailto:
> air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Aziz Douai
> Sent: Friday, 4 April 2014 12:27 AM
> To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
> Subject: [Air-L] Subversive Twitter: Cuban Spring à la ZunZuneo
>
> Dear AoIRists,
>
>
>
> Some of you may have seen today's AP story in the *Washington Post* about
> the US attempt to create a Twitter like messaging system, ZunZeneo, to
> foment a "Cuban Spring" in Cuba (link below).
>
>
>
> While this reminds us of how communication technologies have always been
> at the forefront of serving "imperialist" projects, I am afraid this leaked
> story bolsters fears and suspicions of conspiracy and fair-minded folks
> alike about the "organic"/indigenous nature of the "Arab Spring."  What
> does it say about our research into social media and activism in developing
> nations AND those of us who engage in this type of research?
>
>
>
> I would appreciate hearing some of your views on the ethics of such
> project, its implications on new media activism, and scholars'/researchers'
> analyses of "new" media enabled social change in developing nations.
>
>
>
> The full WP story is available here:
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-secretly-created-cuban-twitter-to-stir-unrest/2014/04/03/8a2dc77c-bafa-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_story.html
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Aziz Douai, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Faculty of Social Science and Humanities University of Ontario Institute
> of Technology
> 55 Bond Street East
> Oshawa, ON   L1G 0A5, Canada
>
> Tel: 905.721.8668, ext. 3790
> Fax:    905.721.3372
> E-mail: aziz.douai at uoit.ca
> Web:
>
> http://socialscienceandhumanities.uoit.ca/research/researcher-profiles/dr.-aziz-douai.php
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> "A popular government without popular information, or the means of
> acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both."
> James Madison, 1822
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>



-- 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aziz Douai, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
55 Bond Street East
Oshawa, ON   L1G 0A5, Canada

Tel: 905.721.8668, ext. 3790
Fax:    905.721.3372
E-mail: aziz.douai at uoit.ca
Web:
http://socialscienceandhumanities.uoit.ca/research/researcher-profiles/dr.-aziz-douai.php

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"A popular government without popular information, or the means of
acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both."
James Madison, 1822
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