The late American poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron famously declared in a 1970 recording that “the revolution will not be televised.” In the case of the uprising in Syria, this phrase almost rang true. Unlike the closely documented protests in Tunisia and Egypt, in which 24-hour news coverage captured the historic fall of two long-standing […]

A disturbing article in the New York Times today chronicles the Syrian government’s crackdown on social media to stifle protest and destabilize the revolutionaries. As the article points out, since journalists are prohibited from entering the country, social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have become essential, not only to spread information outside the country, but […]

Journalist Khaled Sid Mohand, a reporter for French newspaper Le Monde and Radio France, participated in a Q&A with the International Press Institute (IPI) and Wissam Tarif of human rights NGO Insan about the 23 days he spent in a Syrian detention facility. Arrested in a Damascus café on 9 April, Mohand was held for nearly a […]

Al Jazeera reporter Dorothy Parvaz, who, according to Syrian officials quoted by the network was detained after landing in Damascus on 29 April, has been deported to Iran, the news network reported today, again quoting Syrian officials. The network released a statement saying it had received information that she had been moved to Tehran. Syrian officials […]