This report discusses presentations and panel discussion in Washington DC, United States, on July 7 2009, in which new media practitioners, Iran specialists, and interested observers attempted to clarify the role of new media in the Iranian elections and the implications of these technologies for future democratic movements. The report is the result of a Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) workshop in which approximately 150 people came together to discuss the impact of new communications technologies in Iran. The discussion centred on the role of new media in pre- and post-election Iran, as well as the future of new media in social movements. Presenters included Robert Faris, Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University; Andrew Lewman, executive director of The Tor Project; Sam Sedaei, director of the Iran programme at Nonviolence International and an international affairs contributor to The Huffington Post; and Setareh Derakhshesh, lead anchor for Voice of America’s Persian News Network (PNN) and a professor at Georgetown University.

Presentations:

• Robert Faris told participants that new media played a significant role, and international broadcasting services played a more important role. New media tools offer faster information access, but lack accuracy and credibility of traditional forms of media. Censorship is a challenge to use of social media tools, but due to the decentralised nature of tools such as Twitter and mobile phone short message service (SMS), they present challenges to government controls and they can reduce costs and increase efficiency for social movements. In Iran, they united a movement and disseminated information both inside and outside the country.

• Andrew Lewman explained the use of Tor free software and network to protect citizens’ online privacy and anonymity. Tor accomplishes this by redirecting encrypted traffic through multiple relays located all around the world, making it very difficult for a transmission to be intercepted. Today, there are about half a million users of Tor worldwide. He stated that 40 - 80% of Iran's internet was censored. Those using Tor (which had its highest usage in Iran during the government's most restrictive post-election period) could communicate despite censorship and blocked sites. They were able to coordinate news and activities, post messages on well-being and general knowledge of events, and access data charting sites such as Google Maps.

• Sam Sedaei framed the events in Iran as a public relations struggle using technological tools. The government relied on traditional state-run media to condemn the opposition; however, unlike in the past, the opposition was able to speak out against the government by voicing its own arguments through new media: citizen use of digital cameras and cell phones to capture the protests, then posted on YouTube; Twitter to link to blogs and other web pages with videos and pictures of the protests; and Facebook to garner support. International broadcasting services also played an important role in disseminating information about the protests. Satellite TV stations, especially Voice of America’s PNN and BBC Persian, provided "fair and balanced" news after the elections. Despite widespread censorship, new media have prevented the Iranian government from maintaining a monopoly on mass communication abilities.

• Setareh Derakhshesh stated that new media have given new meaning to the word “media" because events can be seen as they unfold. PNN, for example, was not only a provider of news but also a receiver of news. Following the election, PNN received almost 300 videos per hour from ordinary people inside of Iran. This led to the challenge of fact checking and choosing what was authentic and valid for presentation of unbiased news without sacrificing speed. Iranian viewers were looking for local coverage and also how the news was being received by the United States government. The PNN network audience increased during the post-election period, and the website had an 800 percent increase in the number of visitors, and, even with increased censorship, 4,600 followers on its Twitter page.

In the discussion that followed, participants reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of new media in general and addressed specific questions related to new media and Iranian public opinion during the protest period. It was noted that Iranian women found a way to voice opinion through blogs. New media gave a role to the Iranian Diaspora. The Diaspora played a role in translating information coming out of Iran and spreading it to the rest of the world. It also helped people inside Iran stay informed. For example, when YouTube was blocked, people outside Iran emailed videos back into the country in order to keep people inside informed of events. Censorship was discussed as being increasingly prevalent but complicated due to technology such as proxy servers and third-party applications. Its use also carries the risk of negative public opinion. It was agreed that new media have a more democratic platform, increase access to timely information and citizen journalism, give movements the opportunity to set their own news agendas, can be moderated for reliability through traditional media, and will continue to play a role despite increased censorship.

Email from Marguerite Sullivan to The Communication Initiative on July 22 2009.