It's about over for the thread #iranelection on Twitter. Once a staple of the Iranian opposition movement's supporters, and consistently one of the most popular trends on Twitter, it has, of late, degenerated into a hive of infighting, mistrust, and a simple lack of focus. It is dying off rapidly...and sadly. As the world's attention turns away from Iran, the thread has lost it's meaning and sense of direction. A majority of the people who continue to post regularly belong to a cadre of die-hard fundamentalist-type opponents of Ahmadinejad and the regime. They sit on Twitter trading historical quotes of inspiration and 'news from Iran' which is 99% rumor. They challenge all newcomers and prematurely denounce them as 'Spies for the regime' without any evidence. A few other tweets come from people or organizations looking to make a financial gain from the turmoil in Iran, such as the Haystack supporters. Haystack is a product alleged to provide uncensored internet access to people in Iran. I strongly doubt Haystack will ever live up to it's promise. There is no proof that it has, in any case. Nevertheless, Haystack supporters continuously ask for financial contributions on #iranelection. Where the money they receive goes, I have no idea. However, it's safe to say the money does not go towards making Haystack a reality. The remainder of the regular contributors to #Iranelection are the legitimate supporters of the regime and those lashing out for being labeled as 'government spies' and 'troublemakers.'
As the Sea of Green evaporates in Iran, it does the same on Twitter.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Fairy Tale That Is Persiankiwi and PersianKiwie
In the midst of a struggle, people need a hero. A living, breathing symbol of courage in a world that is increasingly oppressive and dark. Someone who they can look to for inspiration and encouragement, especially in the darkest of hours. Ghandi and Martin Luther King were such men. They existed, and there are long, detailed histories of them and their feats. Unfortunately, men such as this are not always there when the people need them. Fortunately, there are enough resourceful and creative humans around to compensate for this. If there are no heroic symbols alive, one can always create them, We've seen it before. Robin Hood is a perfect example. So are, to lesser extents, the pied piper and Peter Pan. Legends and fairy tales created to give people hope and inspiration.
In June, 2009, as Iran came unglued and the streets were filled with protesters and riot police locked in bloody clashes, a hero was created for the benefit of the "Sea of Green." With the aid of Twitter, and some very creative people, a fictitious person with the handle of PersianKiwi came into existence in the cyberworld. Persiankiwi, or PK as he/she is more commonly known, claimed to be a member of the opposition and gave what many believed to be accurate, first hand reports of the situation in Iran through Twitter.
Here is the Wikipedia article that gives a good account of the Persiankiwi fable.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiankiwi
PK mysteriously disappeared one day in June after tweeting an ominous note. No one has heard from him/her ever since. Despite the fact that it is impossible to verify PK's existence, he has built up a massive following on Twitter. His absence is consistently talked about. Rumors are traded about his actual status. Some say he is alive and hiding. Others say he's been arrested and is in prison. I've even heard it said that he could be a Basij or government agent out to plant misinformation. No one knows for sure.
In late June or early July of 2009 the Iran threads on twitter were alive with news that PK had came back with a new name: Persiankiwie. People rejoiced and spread the word. PKiwiE claimed his original account was hijacked by the Basij and it was no longer safe. He also went on to claim that he had "hard proof" that yours truly, Eyeranprotestr, was a Basij agent. Well! Imagine my surprise. This lead me to believe that PK and PKiwiE were both imposters. I even went as far as to research PersianKiwiE and discovered that he was, in fact, an imposter. I made contact with him and my suspicions were verified. Brother PKiwiE was a fraud and made it known to the Twitter world.
The backlash was titanic. RT's soared across Twitter world announcing that PKiwiE was a fake! And so, the seeds of doubt were sewn about the original PersianKiwi.
I believed PersianKiwi was an imposter who, amazingly enough, was able to snooker thousands of people on twitter, who were hungry for a hero, into believing he was their salvation. fter some additional research, I discovered my doubts were accurate.
The truth is that PK is simply a fable conjured up by some college kids in California. I've been in contact with them. I know their names and where they go to school. They informed me that soon PK will return to Twitter under the original name and try again to "fool the idiots on there who cannot think for themselves" one more time.
Bravo, for the PK fairy tale! You've succeeded in fooling thousands of people and even getting PK's own wikipedia entry, and dozens of mentions on CNN and other news outlets worldwide. And PK don't even exist!!! He's not in Tehran, he's in Burbank!
Bravo!!
In June, 2009, as Iran came unglued and the streets were filled with protesters and riot police locked in bloody clashes, a hero was created for the benefit of the "Sea of Green." With the aid of Twitter, and some very creative people, a fictitious person with the handle of PersianKiwi came into existence in the cyberworld. Persiankiwi, or PK as he/she is more commonly known, claimed to be a member of the opposition and gave what many believed to be accurate, first hand reports of the situation in Iran through Twitter.
Here is the Wikipedia article that gives a good account of the Persiankiwi fable.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiankiwi
PK mysteriously disappeared one day in June after tweeting an ominous note. No one has heard from him/her ever since. Despite the fact that it is impossible to verify PK's existence, he has built up a massive following on Twitter. His absence is consistently talked about. Rumors are traded about his actual status. Some say he is alive and hiding. Others say he's been arrested and is in prison. I've even heard it said that he could be a Basij or government agent out to plant misinformation. No one knows for sure.
In late June or early July of 2009 the Iran threads on twitter were alive with news that PK had came back with a new name: Persiankiwie. People rejoiced and spread the word. PKiwiE claimed his original account was hijacked by the Basij and it was no longer safe. He also went on to claim that he had "hard proof" that yours truly, Eyeranprotestr, was a Basij agent. Well! Imagine my surprise. This lead me to believe that PK and PKiwiE were both imposters. I even went as far as to research PersianKiwiE and discovered that he was, in fact, an imposter. I made contact with him and my suspicions were verified. Brother PKiwiE was a fraud and made it known to the Twitter world.
The backlash was titanic. RT's soared across Twitter world announcing that PKiwiE was a fake! And so, the seeds of doubt were sewn about the original PersianKiwi.
I believed PersianKiwi was an imposter who, amazingly enough, was able to snooker thousands of people on twitter, who were hungry for a hero, into believing he was their salvation. fter some additional research, I discovered my doubts were accurate.
The truth is that PK is simply a fable conjured up by some college kids in California. I've been in contact with them. I know their names and where they go to school. They informed me that soon PK will return to Twitter under the original name and try again to "fool the idiots on there who cannot think for themselves" one more time.
Bravo, for the PK fairy tale! You've succeeded in fooling thousands of people and even getting PK's own wikipedia entry, and dozens of mentions on CNN and other news outlets worldwide. And PK don't even exist!!! He's not in Tehran, he's in Burbank!
Bravo!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Firing Up The Children 3 August 2009
One post can cause a hellstorm. This one caused a mini-storm but it's always something to see how a few of the regular folks on #Iranelection are set on a hair trigger.
eyeranprotestr0#iranelection #musicmonday RT ATTENTION BASIJ! Professor REV KHARMAZI is TWITTERING from Tehran University Faculty Lounge. ARREST!!!!!!
The responses........
csbayRT @eyeranprotestr0: F** U you scum SOBgvt. RAT. We promise to have your head on a stick in a street of Tehran. #tehran #iranelection #iran
T4Tx@eyeranprotestr0: F** U you scum SOBgvt. RAT. We promise to have your head on a stick in a street of Tehran. #tehran #iranelection #iran
CSBay:WARNING: EYERANPROTESTR0 is a GVT Rat. Block this SOB out of the site. He is spying on people here in twitter #tehran #iranelection #neda RT
retrothunderboy @eyeranprotestr0 so its you back again spilling your crap ps did you get the $100 i sent you cheers
T4Tx @eyeranprotestr0: F** U you scum SOBgvt. RAT. We promise to have your head on a stick in a street of Tehran. #tehran #iranelection #iran
grandpasargad Attention Twitter admin: eyeranprotestr0 is a basiji spreading false news and reporting Iranian twitters location. please block this basiji
The_FNGa "@csbay - WARNING: EYERANPROTESTR0 is a GVT Rat." Nah, he's a punk kid in the US. Check in tweeting hours. #iranelection #iran #gr88
womenonearth @DorkThink @csbay ~ "eyeranprotestr0" is not agent, he is American in California named Mike. Block & ignore (>troll or fasci-nazi something)
LOL These people are wound up so tight it's insane. They jump at the slightest movement.
The responses........
csbayRT @eyeranprotestr0: F** U you scum SOBgvt. RAT. We promise to have your head on a stick in a street of Tehran. #tehran #iranelection #iran
T4Tx@eyeranprotestr0: F** U you scum SOBgvt. RAT. We promise to have your head on a stick in a street of Tehran. #tehran #iranelection #iran
-
womenonearth @DorkThink @csbay ~ "eyeranprotestr0" is not agent, he is American in California named Mike. Block & ignore (>troll or fasci-nazi something)
- DorkThink @eyeranprotestr0 Mike, grow up.
-
DorkThink @csbay ~ @eyeranprotestr0 is not agent, he is American in California named Mike. Block & ignore #iranelection #neda #iran - DorkThink @csbay ~ @eyeranprotestr0 is not agent, he is American in California named Mike. Block & ignore
retrothunderboy @eyeranprotestr0 so its you back again spilling your crap ps did you get the $100 i sent you cheers
T4Tx @eyeranprotestr0: F** U you scum SOBgvt. RAT. We promise to have your head on a stick in a street of Tehran. #tehran #iranelection #iran
grandpasargad Attention Twitter admin: eyeranprotestr0 is a basiji spreading false news and reporting Iranian twitters location. please block this basiji
The_FNGa "@csbay - WARNING: EYERANPROTESTR0 is a GVT Rat." Nah, he's a punk kid in the US. Check in tweeting hours. #iranelection #iran #gr88
womenonearth @DorkThink @csbay ~ "eyeranprotestr0" is not agent, he is American in California named Mike. Block & ignore (>troll or fasci-nazi something)
LOL These people are wound up so tight it's insane. They jump at the slightest movement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)