YouTube Embraces Role In Iranian Protests

December 30, 2009 · Print this article, Visited 174 times, 1 so far today

Online tools have played important roles in the Iranian protests; right from the start, the appearance of videos on YouTube and trending topics on Twitter helped spread awareness about the disputed presidential election.  And YouTube doesn't want anyone to forget that it's still doing its part.

A blog post titled "Ordinary citizens, extraordinary videos" was published on Citizentube, the YouTube Blog, and the Official Google Blog this afternoon.  Since it didn't contain any news or announcements, cynics could argue that YouTube's just looking for its share of attention following Biz Stone's article in the Times Online.

Still, the Citizentube/YouTube/Google post assured readers that YouTube doesn't intend to shy away from the controversy, and it may cause people to take a second (or third or fourth) look at the situation in Iran. 

Olivia Ma, who's a member of the YouTube News and Politics team, wrote, "We will continue to provide the platform for you to see what they see, hear their voices and learn about their struggles.  And we encourage you to join the global conversation.  Leave a comment, upload your own response video or share a moving moment with someone else."

Then here's an interesting coincidence: today, the Times Online published something by Adam LeBor, and Lebor wrote, "When Iran's regime falls this will be remembered as the YouTube revolution."

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