How Twitter Started a Revolution in Iran

Iran held its presidential election on June 12, 2009.  The candidates were: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrobui.  Ahmadinejad is the current President of Iran and represents the more conservative political party in the country whereas Mousavi and Karrobui represent the more moderate, reformed political parties.  When the election was over and votes counted, Ahmadinejad won with more than 63% of the country's vote.  This created a series of protests sparking what is now being referred to as the Green Revolution across Iran.

Twitter in particular has been used by those opposed to Ahmadinejad's victory to get out pictures, videos, government response to protests and general news from the country. Iran's Intelligence Ministry has gone out of its way to shut down Iranian Twitter accounts, arrest those behind them and in some cases physically torture and assassinate those circumventing the country's Twitter ban. Many Twitter users from Iran are going to inspiring lengths to share news from the country at great personal risk from their government.

Twitter has allowed news to escape from a country where the media is strictly controlled by Ahmadinejad's regime. While the state-based news there controls what is being released to the world community and international journalists are now being questioned, detained and held without counsel for reporting on protests. The Twitter community has joined together to help support Iranian comrades trying to break the silence and get world out on the election that sparked a revolution in their country.

Anyone with a Twitter account can help Iranians very simply by changing their time zone and location to match Iran's.  This way the Intelligence Ministry is confused by who actually resides in the country and who does not.  Since they have to wade through many more users this way, it makes it harder to track down those sharing real news from Iran.  It also helps keep them safe and one step ahead of those who might harm them for speaking their mind and keeping the international community in the loop as to what is truly happening in the country.