Iraq currently has an unstable media environment that has gone through many twists and turns ever since the US invasion in 2003. Throughout the decade, many attempts had been made to stabilize the country’s political and media system. Not much progress, if any, were made. If they even did make a step forward, the Islamic State (ISIS) certainly made sure to bring them back many steps.
Because of the terrorist organization’s presence in the region, it is literally back to square one in terms of where they came from before the US invasion. Their impact on the media is no different. ISIS had produced propaganda in the media to instill fear upon those in resistance and also attract more recruiters, one way they do it is by sending their messages to the world online, especially in social media. In an attempt to stop their recruiting tactics in its tracks, the Iraqi government completely blocked websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, greatly reduce internet traffic in their country.
That decision came shortly after an Islamic militant posted a graphic image of a severed corpse’s head on Twitter. Anti-censorship organizations panned the move, however, claiming it was cutting a lifeline from activists and other people outside of Iraq, and preventing Iraqis from having free access to internet (which they did have prior to this incident despite the lack of internet penetration in the nation). Well, it seems that’s not the case anymore. Because of their concern for ISIS’ presence on the internet, the government has censored the internet from Iraqis, too.
It may be understandable to be concerned about ISIS spreading their message out to the world and more particular, the local population, but couldn’t the government have found any other way to counteract them? While it is true there are many despicable people who can spread messages anywhere at anytime, it is also used as an important use of information in case of emergencies, like what Iraq is currently under right now. If people don’t have access such key details, where else can they go? I don’t even know if this is simply the case of being forced to form an authoritarian government during times of crisis or if this is just deliberate from the beginning before the Islamic State formed, or even both.
If Iraq restricts the internet in a bid to reduce the spread of ISIS propaganda, then I personally think the Iraqi government is fighting a losing battle. ISIS has recruits from all over the Middle East region, Africa and even from Western worlds like Europe and the United States. They have managed to spread their message through traditional and digital media that I believe Iraq is already too late on that decision. Still, it’s better than no action I guess. However, I don’t think banning the internet (especially social media) will help them because it would limit the citizens’ ability to speak out against the threat. Many people have called this act a violation of freedom of expression against the Iraqi people, and it is.
This just leaves me with a question for the readers here. Do you think the Iraqi government did the right thing to restrict the use of the internet and social media in their country to prevent the spread of ISIS ideals? If not, what do you think the government could have done differently? Do you think they have another motive to banning internet, like more authoritarian control, etc? Any thoughts, opinions and disagreements are welcome.
http://new-middle-east.blogspot.com/2014/06/authoritarianisms-damage-to-iraq.html
