The power of Twitter in closed societies


Issue 1000 - 22 Sep 2015 | 2 minute read

The disconnection between the ambitions of dynamic new media and the still closed nature of most Gulf societies is strongly evident in the way that rumour and fact frequently entwine in breaking stories about the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)’s ruling families. There is huge pressure on writers and bloggers to provide new facts and insights. With almost no reliable sources, rumours published on Twitter can quickly attain the status of fact – sometimes with justification and sometimes not.In early 2015, the death of King Abdullah and King Salman’s succession to the Saudi throne provided just such grist to the rumour mill.

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