Citizen Journalism in the Digital Age: The Case of the 2011 Social Protests in Egypt

Abstract

This study set out to explore the functions and affordances of Twitter for protest movements through a case study of the 2011 Egyptian uprising. Drawing on theories of social networks and social movements, this study adds to the growing body of scholarship on online activism in an attempt to explore how activists mobilize Web 2.0 technologies in times of social and political unrest. The paper hypothesized that the usage of Twitter for political activism should perform the primary function of citizen journalism which has the potential to effectively disseminate information to large audiences and raise awareness towards the protest movement. To test this hypothesis, this research undertook a content analysis of tweets, particularly the #jan25 hashtag, to verify whether they fulfill the functions of citizen journalism. The results obtained from this study were consistent with the formulated hypothesis. The findings offer a useful foundation for further studies on online political activism in developing countries, particularly the MENA region.