BLOGS AND BULLETS IV HOW SOCIAL MEDIA UNDERMINES TRANSITIONS TO DEMOCRACY Marc Lynch, Deen Freelon, and Sean Aday ABOUT THE REPORT As part of its ongoing Blogs and Bullets project, PeaceTech Lab analyzed the role of social media in Egypt’s failed attempt to transform an effective uprising into a successful democratic transition. The study drew from unique Twitter and Facebook datasets to determine how social media was used with different effects during and following Egypt’s intense periods of protest. This report primarily focuses on how three key mechanisms of social media operated in Egypt’s transitional environ- ment: clustering, fear, and translation. The Blogs and Bullets project is conducted in partnership with George Washington University’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Marc Lynch is a professor of political science and inter- national affairs at George Washington University, director of the Project on Middle East Political Science, and nonresident senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Deen Freelon is an associate professor of communication at American University. Sean Aday is an associate professor of media and public affairs and international affairs at George Washington University and director of the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication. Cover photo: A woman attending a demonstration during the Egyptian uprising in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, takes a picture with her smartphone, January 2011. (Getty Images/Marco Vacca, Contributor) The views expressed in this report are those of the author(s) alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the PeaceTech Lab. PeaceTech Lab 2301 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20037 Phone: 202-429-7800 E-mail:
[email protected] Web: www.peacetechlab.org First published 2016.