A Case Study on social media : platforms for freedom or tyranny?

Sammanfattning: Some assert that social media has contributed in one way or another to organizing the work of revolutionaries and those seeking freedom and democracy on its platforms and has provided them with a space to express their opinion against authoritarian regimes. However, the information policies of the companies behind social media can discourage activists and enable authoritarian regimes. This case study examines the views of experts and media professionals on the changes in the roles of social media companies over the past 11 years in the context of social liberation movements. Through interviews with four media professionals and a survey of Syrian social media users, the study identifies the perceived restrictions imposed on the freedom of activists and media professionals to use social media, and at the same time identifies the perceived beneficiaries of these restrictions. The results show that social media companies are now playing a dangerous role in imposing an unethical system on new media that is far from impartiality and objectivity. It also empowers people and groups belonging to certain political parties and gives them freedom of expression at the expense of other people and groups.