Micro-blogging site Twitter is being used by Iranians during the country’s protests against an alleged rigged election that placed president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for another four-year term.
The site has been flooded with ‘tweets’ by Iranians, with many posts including pictures of wounded protestors who have allegedly been beaten by police.
The words “Iranelection” has been recorded as the most popular Twitter ‘trend’ of the day, while a message thread has appeared on the site that has apparently organised cyber attacks on official Iranian government websites.
“We are going offline to get a phone free for calling out,” one Iranian posted. “We are also moving location – too long here – is dangerous.”
Another wrote “Attacked in streets by mob on motorbikes with batons – firing guns into air – street fires all over town – roads closed”.
The current use of the site mirrors similar reactions during the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, where users ‘tweeted’ real-time messages about what was happening in several cities around the world where Twitter has been used to organise protests.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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