Facebook: more than a change, less than a revolution

Social media websites are playing a role that evolved from the introduction of the cause at hand to the mobilization of the maximum number of its supporters, whether we considered that they sparked the Arab Spring revolutions or only contributed in them.    

In Lebanon, we did not witness a revolution, but Lebanese citizens upheld numerous causes on social media websites, such as the campaign to topple confessionalism, the campaigns to fight racism as well as protests over electricity blackouts.     

In this regard, Assaad Thebian, one of the organizers of the social media websites’ campaign, told LBCI that these websites helped organize the campaign, but their impact was not as strong as that in the Arab States.       

Another example is Zeid Hamdan who was imprisoned for publishing a song that was considered offensive to the Lebanese President. Social media websites played an important role in his life, and kind of accelerated his release.          

In the end, the debate over the role of these websites remains open to all possibilities.