How information warfare shaped the Arab Spring : the politics of narrative in Egypt and Tunisia / Nathaniel Greenberg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Greenberg, Nathaniel, 1979- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

WikiLeaks (Organization).

Arab Spring, 2010---Social aspects.

Arab Spring, 2010-.

Information warfare--Middle East.

Information warfare.

Egypt--History--Protests, 2011-2013.

Egypt.

Tunisia--History--Demonstrations, 2010-.

Tunisia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 276 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2019]

Summary:

Tells the story of how a proxy-communications war ignited and hijacked the Arab uprisingsOn January 28 2011 WikiLeaks released documents from a cache of US State Department cables stolen the previous year. The Daily Telegraph in London published one of the memos with an article headlined 'Egypt protests: America's secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising'. The effect of the revelation was immediate, helping set in motion an aggressive counter-narrative to the nascent story of the Arab Spring. The article featured a cluster of virulent commentators all pushing the same story: the CIA, George Soros and Hillary Clinton were attempting to take over Egypt. Many of these commentators were trolls, some of whom reappeared in 2016 to help elect Donald J. Trump as President of the United States. This book tells the story of how a proxy-communications war ignited and hijacked the Arab uprisings and how individuals on the ground, on air and online worked to shape history.Key FeaturesIncludes the author’s first-hand perspective of the Arab uprisings which he wrote about from Cairo for The Seattle TimesFeatures interviews with high level insiders, including the American Ambassador to Egypt in 2011, Margaret ScobeyProvides a critical survey and analysis of the use of narrative and counter-narrative theories by the U.S. defence-intelligence sectorDiscusses how the Tunisian uprising was utilised by groups like Ansar al-Shari‘ah in Tunisia and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to advance a radical Islamic agendaIncludes analysis of new trends in cultural production, including the recent boom in science fiction and popular cinema

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Figures and Tables

Acknowledgements

Introduction: The Hurricane and the Butterfly

1 Information Warfare 2.0: A Methodological Critique

2 News of a Revolution

3 Abu Ayadh: L’Homme Revolté

4 Media Wars I: Egypt

5 Media Wars II: Tunisia

6 Philosophy and Revolution

7 Jihad and Revolution

8 The Speculative Fiction of Now

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4744-5398-8

1-4744-5397-X

OCLC:

1312725958