Why Governments Use Broadcast TV and Dissidents Use Twitter

How regimes take control of official media channels and push activists onto the Internet.By Philip N. Howard

Last March I was walking past Gezi Park with a Turkish friend at dusk. He had just joined me from prayers and I asked him what he thought about the brewing debate over the park’s future. Like most Turkish voters, he is a fan of the country’s prime minister, Erdogan. Like most of the country’s voters, my friend easily integrates his faith with his daily routines. But he said simply “Istanbul doesn’t need another Mosque.” He started pointing off in different directions. “There’s one there, there and there. And there and there and there. Istanbul needs a park.”

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