Internet Rallies Behind Iranian Protesters

As a media crackdown in Iran suppressed major news outlets, and even, reportedly, major social networking sites such as Facebook, social media site Twitter has become critical in providing up-to-the-second news as to what is happening on the ground in Iran. The microblogging site is quickly proving it is more than just a place for bored internet users to post about their desire for a cookie or a nap.

And now two major online groups notorious for file-sharing and masked protests have teamed up to lend their skills for subterfuge to those fighting for democratic change in Iran. The Pirate Bay, the well-known online destination for peer-to-peer file-sharing, has teamed up with the rabble-rousing Anonymous, a group of internet-based activists formed to protest the Church of Scientology, to create an internet forum. It houses advice for keeping one’s anonymity in Iran and on how to protest, as well as a place to post news, videos, pictures and missing persons notifications.

The forum site explains the groups’ reasoning as such: “We are not a government agency, nor are we Iranian. We are simply the internet and we believe in free speech.” Meanwhile, the Pirate Bay has changed its logo in honour of the protesters in Tehran, trading its traditional black pirate cassette tape for a green-coloured ship depicting a dove.