Internet, catalyst for the Jasmine Revolution

The basic causes of revolts like that in Tunisia remain social and political dissatisfaction. But modern communication technology and new media play an important role as catalysts, writes the liberal-conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "Authoritarian regimes have every reason to fear the Internet and have adapted to it in their own way. Like the Tunisian authorities, they crack down on bloggers and other critical minds, and use the social networks to manipulate the public sphere with propaganda and false reports. In any case many of the messages circulating on the Internet are known facts or other forms of 'white noise', that is to say useless blabber. Despite its aura of immediacy, like the classical media the Internet doesn't convey an image of the entire wolrd, but just of a small - more or less correct - section of it."

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