http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/01/syria-video-activists-media-war?CMP=twt_gu
"Across Syria hundreds of video activists – most of them young, male,
and technologically savvy – have joined the revolution against the
Syrian government. 'The regime is fighting the people in two ways. One
is with the army. The other is with the media,' Yahya Abdulrahman, a
physics student from Aleppo University explained.
The 21-year-old,
who is from Aldana, north of Aleppo, added: 'There are parts of the
Free Syrian Army that are fighting the regime. But there are other parts
fighting the regime's hackers.' Aldana is without an internet
connection, so Abdulrahman, also a video activist, typically gives his
Nokia memory card to Mohammad to upload.
Abdulrahman took his
first video of a demo on Aleppo University's science campus. He said he
got the job because he was tall and good at running. During his second
assignment, however, the security forces caught and arrested all of the
students involved. 'I was shooting video. Five guys grabbed me," he
recalled.'"
When the government says such and such is happening, and the people upload videos showing that's just a big fat lie, it deflates the mighty power of government propaganda instantly. A few guys with cameras and Internet access can overcome an entire department of trained propagandists.
Internet Collective Action is people organizing in a nonhierarchical manner to accomplish a particular goal. The reward is in the doing, and how much or how little anyone participates is completely voluntary, depending on their abilities and commitment to the goal. By this process amazing things can be accomplished. ICA will grow so long as the Internet is free. http://www.lisamcpherson.org/pc.htm is an example of ICA.
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