WhatsApp in the Arab world: an essential but controversial tool
WhatsApp in the Arab world: an essential but controversial tool
In Lebanon, where telecommunications are highly regulated and
expensive, citizens have increasingly relied on WhatsApp for free calls.
When the government announced a tax on these calls on October
17, it sparked protests that grew to an unprecedented scale.
After more than a week of demonstrations, protesters have
rejected the term "WhatsApp revolution", saying the phrase diminishes
what is a demand for drastic political change.
But they acknowledge the technology is instrumental in
mobilising rallies that have attracted hundreds of thousands from a population
of about six million.
Yasmine Rifaii, 24, a protest organiser from Tripoli in northern
Lebanon who works at a local NGO, said WhatsApp was operating as a virtual
"backstage for the revolution".
"We are connected to all of these WhatsApp groups --
Lebanon is a small country, everyone knows someone else from another city. We
are reaching out across religions and locations," she told AFP.
Over the border in Syria, Whatsapp can be the difference between
life and death.
Mustafa al-Hajj Younes, who heads a group of first responders in
Idlib province, said civilians use group chats to appeal for help from rescue
teams.
"We coordinate on these groups whenever there is a need for
our services," he said.
WhatsApp is especially useful because of weak telecommunications
infrastructure in areas under opposition control. "People can only contact
us through WhatsApp or cell phones," he said.
- 'Most dangerous app' -
Across the region, digital authoritarianism is increasing, with
some governments regularly blocking popular social media applications including
WhatsApp, especially its free calls feature.
Users in Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates cannot
make internet calls without a proxy server. Messages deemed offensive in court
have even landed some users in jail in the UAE.
It is a similar story in Morocco, where the government banned
free voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls in 2016.
A 26-year-old Moroccan journalist who relies on the app to
liaise with officials and sources told AFP it was a "national drama"
when the decision came into effect, provoking a swift public backlash.
In the wake of small-scale protests in Egypt, police have
randomly stopped and frisked people to examine social media content on their
phones.
Police arrested many on the spot after inspecting their mobiles,
AFP witnessed in September.
That month, the attorney-general's office said prosecutors had
orders to "inspect the social media accounts and pages of those
detained".
In Iraq, where nearly 200 people have died in protests during
October, another battle is being waged online.
When anti-corruption demonstrations broke out in many cities
early this month, authorities cut internet services in an attempt to quell
unrest -- a tactic they have used in the past.
"We consider Whatsapp to be the most dangerous application
at this stage," a well-placed security source who preferred to remain
anonymous told AFP.
"Cutting the connection to WhatsApp was meant to prevent
these gatherings from happening", he bluntly admitted.
Yasser al-Joubouri, an Iraqi activist who participated in the
protests in Baghdad, said the app was crucial for forming activist groups to
disseminate details about protests.
"We created (WhatsApp) groups specifically to share
information quickly and distribute it on social networks like Facebook and
Twitter," he said.
This sharing of information provokes an "existential
fear" for governments that were caught off-guard by the Arab Spring
uprisings, said Adel Iskandar, a media studies professor at Simon Fraser
University in Canada.
But governments also see that such apps could be beneficial, he
added.
"The state sees these platforms not merely as a threat but
rather as an opportunity to supplant critical messages with supportive
ones," Iskandar told AFP.
- 'Making things easier' -
With over 1.5 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp remains the most
popular social media programme in terms of usage in the youthful, tech-savvy
region, according to a recent survey by Northwestern University in Qatar.
Aside from sharing harrowing content and connecting protesters
from turbulent hotspots via in-built encrypted messages, the app is also used
for everyday conversations, like elsewhere in the world.
Jordanian officials, as well as other policymakers across the
region, regularly communicate with journalists in groups broadcasting
statements; they even give sensitive interviews on the freely available instant
messaging service.
Jamila Sharaf, a mother-of-two from east Jerusalem, keeps up
with activities for her children with the school's administration informing her
and other parents in a group.
"The application makes things easier and helps to spread
information very quickly," she said.
In Iran, officials banned the more secure app Telegram, saying
it was used to fuel unrest during a wave of protests in January 2018.
This has driven many young people to Whatsapp.
"The ban on Telegram has made me use WhatsApp more,"
said Ramin, a 26-year-old from Tehran.
She described the idea of taxing social media to plug budget
shortfalls as "ridiculous".
"I would (be prepared to) help my government in that
situation, but not by paying for something which is meant to be free."
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