Obama Keeps the Twitter Revolution Online

Image: <a href="http://twitter.com/mousavi1388">Twitter</a>

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Publicly, Obama administration has been playing it pretty cool on the Iranian election, but it seems that the first tech-savvy White House has already played an important role on the backend of the Twitter Revolution. Reuters reports that over the weekend the State Department urged Twitter not to shut down for an upgrade that would have cut off service to oppostion tweeters in Iran. “We highlighted to them that this was an important form of communication,” says an unnamed State official. Twitter delayed the upgrade with no mention of any official pressure. Does the administration deserve props for getting it, technologically and politically? Or should it have kept its hands off a situation that bloggers such as Andrew Sullivan were all over?

THANKS FOR READING. NOW ONE QUICK ASK...

Trump and his allies are clamping down on the press—using lawsuits, lies, intimidation, and the power of the federal government. While major media outlets cave, Mother Jones won’t back down. To help us stand strong, a generous board member just chipped in a $50,000 digital matching gift. Will you help us make the most of it?

Every dollar you give online through September 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

The forces working to demolish trust in the media and the very idea of shared facts are not slowing down. If you believe in kickass, truth-telling independent journalism, now is the time to show it. Please give what you can—any amount—and know that every dollar will go twice as far.

payment methods

THANKS FOR READING. NOW ONE QUICK ASK...

Trump and his allies are clamping down on the press—using lawsuits, lies, intimidation, and the power of the federal government. While major media outlets cave, Mother Jones won’t back down. To help us stand strong, a generous board member just chipped in a $50,000 digital matching gift. Will you help us make the most of it?

Every dollar you give online through September 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

The forces working to demolish trust in the media and the very idea of shared facts are not slowing down. If you believe in kickass, truth-telling independent journalism, now is the time to show it. Please give what you can—any amount—and know that every dollar will go twice as far.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate