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The Global Twittersphere Discusses Gaza

Categories: Middle East & North Africa, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Palestine, U.S.A., Breaking News, Citizen Media, Digital Activism, Economics & Business, Governance, Humanitarian Response, Media & Journalism, Protest, Refugees, War & Conflict

Twitter [1] is the new blogging, or so the story goes [2]. Never has that been more apparent than in times of crisis: During the Mumbai attacks, Twitter users provided up-to-the-minute coverage, and today, as Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Gaza, the Twittersphere is deep in discussion.

Twitter users utilize hashtags [3] to aggregate their content; users can then go to Twitter Search [4] and look for content on a particular subject. In this case, the most utilized hashtag is #gaza [5], while #gazawarofwords [6] is tracking media bias. A search for other hashtags being used to discuss Gaza brings up #israel, #syria, #baghdad, #2states, and #rafah, among others. Users also “re-tweet” information from other users in an effort to disseminate it quickly; an example [7]:

[7]

The real-time shelisrael [8], a Twitter user in California, noted early on yesterday [9] that Twitter is one of the first platforms to enable such open discussion:

[9]

Since that point, the world has been engaged in sometimes healthy debate, other times expressing rage, and most importantly, reporting news; the following example includes participants from Palestine, Mauritania, and San Francisco (US):

The nature of the discussion provokes heated questions and arguments. skinner, from Oxford, UK via Amman, Jordan, asks [10]:

YaelBeeri [11], an Israeli Twitter user, points out [12] the diversity of opinion in the Twittersphere:

[12]

Another fascinating feature of the Twitter discussion is the analysis of media coverage. #gazawarofwords [6], a hashtag started by Twitter user weddady [13], provides a central point of aggregation for such reporting:

The best way to follow Twitter updates is by looking to the source; Twitter Search [4] RSS feeds for any hashtag or search term (e.g. #gaza [14]) and participating is easy.