Silicon Valley framed the Arab Spring as proof of the internet’s political power

Evidence

For Silicon Valley, the Arab Spring was a major public relations victory. A 2012 YouTube blog boasted, “Video plays a particularly important role in illuminating what occurs when governments and individuals in power abuse their positions,” noting that Egypt saw a 70 percent increase in videos uploaded during the protests. Ghonim himself proclaimed on 60 Minutes that the internet was more powerful than the US presidency: “It was good that [Obama] supports the revolution…. But we don’t really need him.” — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 261

Categorization

• XREF: Sets up the declension Marx will trace—the same platforms later blamed for polarization and disinformation became the self-celebrated liberators of 2011. — connects to: Silicon Valley’s self-image elevates entrepreneurship as society’s universal problem-solving model — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 713