Facebook's Digital Rascals and the Iran Election

"It's incredibly messy, and the definitive rules of the game have yet to be written....we're seeing the medium invent itself in real time." --Clay Shirky

On Saturday, I joined a Facebook group called "100 Million Facebook members for Democracy in Iran" where Michael from Edinburgh had posted on a discussion board:

If anyone is on twitter, set your location to Tehran and your time zone to GMT +3.30. "Security" forces are hunting for people blogging about the current abuses of pro-democracy protesters using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut Iranians' access to the internet down. Cut & paste & pass it on.

And why not? Anything I can do to help, I thought.

But after I changed my Twitter's profile settings, I was stuck with a lingering suspicion that I was missing some broader picture.  After all, the Iranian security state isn't alone in reading tweets from Tehran.  Suppose my Twitter subterfuge obstructed a larger, nobler effort by professional journalists, Oprah Winfrey, or The Real Shaq. Then I'd be a villain, a digital James Frey of 2009's #IranElection--the most buoyant hashtag in Twitter sidebar history.  All I'd be doing is very-publicly getting in the way.

I wrote a quick post and tweeted it @ some big names who I figured might be in the know. No response. So I kept my tweets on Tehran time.

Disguising Iranian tweeters wasn't the only trick Michael from Edinburgh had up his sleeve. From the same post:

Help crash Ahmadinejads site.. Open a new window and past the link in the address bar. Leave the window open, his site is already crashing!

A day later, George from Palo Alto:

This is awesome, Ahmadinejad's site just crashed. Please does anyone have and other suggestions for how I can help.

Over the next thirty-six hours, George's question would be answered over and over and over again.  A resounding Yes! followed quickly by a Try this! as suggestions cascaded from all over the Facebook. 

"Please help crash other pro-regime sites," posts Marek from Slovakia, along with a link to a Google Doc full of 'em.  ("haha so sickk i feel like a hacker now" - Pouya, Mt. Carmel High)  "There is a petition to the UN you can sign on CNN facebook site," offers Diana from Toronto; before Sueanne from Eugene writes, "AVAAZ.org is organizing an independent exit poll to confirm election results. You can donate money to support the polling. They're on Facebook, so just look them up!"  Michael from Edinburgh returned with proxy servers, and "Info for inside Iran...Maps to Embassies accepting the injured (don't go to hospitals!)"

Then, at 10 o'clock yesterday morning:

I had page reboot working on all the sites all day I got back to my computer just now and got loads of Trojan warnings from the site www.kayhannews.ir

My computers fine, I have good anti virus software but just be careful about that

Would that have been from somebody putting a Trojan on that site?

A reply arrived within the hour:

I might be so. Our attacks are effective, bad guys will try to stop us. Lets keep them busy! Good antivirus software can be downloaded for free at www.eset.sk (PC only)

Netroots mutates.

During Election '08, it seemed the whole world endorsed Barack Obama's Campaign for Change; but no digital coalition of cyber-rascals derailed John McCain's Straight Talk Express. What was once a hopeful demand becomes a site-busting tsunami, a brute digital force veiled in Mousavi green.  For democracy or worse, George from Palo Alto is right.  This is awesome.

Follow Pablo Manriquez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mnrqz