How the Arab uprisings were weakened by online fakes


A file photo taken on Jan 22, 2011, policemen film with their phones as they demonstrate against the new government on Bourguiba avenue in central Tunis. — AFP

TUNIS: The Arab uprisings a decade ago were supercharged by online calls to join the protests – but the Internet was soon flooded with misinformation, weakening the region’s cyber-activists.

When Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country in January 2011, rumours and uncertainty created “panic and hysteria”, said ex-activist and entrepreneur Houeida Anouar.

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