Bernard Lin Flaws of Social Media in Democracy and Revolution Social media, although capable of rousing the emotions

of the populace in revolution and election, languishes as a tool in governance. Despite certain advantages in speed and accessibility, the flaws of social media restrict it from usurping current news medias role in political dialogue. It is unfair to characterize the role of social media in all countries as being similar, but as representatives of democracy present and future, the United States, Egypt, and Syria best showcase its pitfalls. In the United States, an example of an older democracy, the prowess of social media is demonstrated by its ability to rally mass support in presidential elections, yet its ineffectiveness in off-year elections speaks volumes. Following the 2008 election, Barack Obama accumulated massive online popularity, but his ability to continue harnessing that excitement was limited. Throughout the campaign, the populace was emotionally roused by the prospect of electing the first African-American president. After he was elected, the energy dissipated; social media was a huge disappointment when it came time to support initiatives. In the elections of 2009 and 2010, the Democrats phenomenal machine stood by helplessly, unable to use its accumulated social wealth. Political races aside, the social media was largely uninterested in aiding the passage of legislation. When Obama asked his followers to send Republican congressmen tweets about the budget deficit in July 2010, he lost 37,000 followers on Twitter in a day. 1 The fickleness of social media users indicates difficulty in maintaining influence beyond a short-term emotional scope.
According to Simply Measured as reported by Mashable (http://mashable.com/2011/07/29/obama-compromisecampaign-stats/)
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In Egypt, a youthful democracy still experiencing growing pains, social media played an admirable role in deposing a dictator, but has underperformed in ushering a new era. When protests first began, the world watched with anticipation as the populace used Facebook and Twitter to coordinate events and thwart government intervention. More than two years after the end of Hosni Mubaraks reign, Egypt seems less stable than before; there is unrest along the canal 2 and fears of a president reverting to the authoritarian ways of the past 3. The Twitter and Facebook users who successfully terminated tyrannical rule could not collectively agree on a political vision beyond the revolution. Social media was heralded in the days during and immediately following the fall of Mubarak as a significant factor of success, but has trickled into the background of the conversation. Once again, social media shows the lack of consistency that news media possesses; it is able to stir the population for a briefly united cause before splintering into dissent. The world continues to follow news media as it eyes the upcoming parliamentary elections. Syria is not a democracy, but given the democratic trend in the Middle East, it seems reasonable to assume that it will be the democracy of tomorrow. Since traditional media has been banned from reporting within the country, social media is important for communicating and reporting. Unfortunately, social media lacks a critical attribute that news media possesses: credibility. In the earlier days of protest in 2011, a blog supposedly written by a SyrianAmerican lesbian named A Gay Girl in Damascus surfaced, becoming a worldwide sensation. It was later revealed that the contents were the fictional work of a 40-year-old American man,

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/28/us-egypt-army-idUSBRE91R0FB20130228 http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/01/31/unbalancing_power_in_egypt_s_constitution

Tom MacMaster. 4 Where social media allows people to hide behind their words, the news media is held accountable for errors. Compounded with the fact that many revolutionaries already use fake identities to avoid repercussions, this provides a ripe situation for authoritarian regimes to exploit by infiltrating rebel groups or disseminating falsehoods. Indeed, as the Syrian regime has demonstrated, they too utilize online information to their benefit in seeking vengeance. 5 As the world becomes more dependent on social media for information, the questionable reputation of its contents poses difficulties for those seeking validity over sensation. Social media has played a unique role in shaping the democracies and revolutions of the twenty-first century, but whether in a developed, forming, or upcoming democracy, its lack of energy retention and credibility hinders its rise over traditional news media. However, in the same manner that young democracies progress over time, social media may overcome its flaws to mature in the future.

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http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-06-12/lifestyle/35234652_1_gay-girl-foreign-media-blog http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/world/middleeast/23facebook.html