Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Iran election protest shows importance of a free press

As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's goons crack down on citizens protesting his questionable re-election, we can see once more why an independent and aggressive press (which includes the electronic versions) is crucial. The first thing dictators do is shut down the independent media. They fear the truth more than they fear a violent reaction by their citizenry.

So after Ahmadinejad shut down the Iranian media, protesters began organizing their events in Tehran using Twitter and other social networking sites. Now Iranian authorities are shutting down the social networking sites.

Dictators only want one side of events ot be heard -- there's. But Iranian citizens know they need independent voices. Read this from today's Wall Street Journal:

"Iranians have shared online images, video, emails and "tweets" about the protests and spreading violence -- circumventing state-controlled media. But as the public uprising has intensified, so has the government's attempt to control the flow of information. Internet speed is reduced and cellphone service interrupted."

This is why it's important to have a free press.

No comments:

Post a Comment