Social media was how many of us consumed the 2011 Arab uprisings. Technology was putting power in the hands of the people. To use social media in 2021, especially in the Middle East, is to navigate a maze of internet laws, surveillance, censorship, fake news, and bots. With Facebook now looking for ways to make political content less visible, we’re asking: what changed?

In this episode:

Mohamad Najam (@monajem), executive director of SMEX, a digital rights organization in Beirut, Lebanon; Jillian C. York (@jilliancyork), director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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