The Mavi Marmara at the Frontlines of Web 2.0

This essay reviews the “YouTube war” over the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara in light of Israel’s recent forays into social media. It explores the implications of state use of grassroots media platforms, examines the widespread perception that this has been a fiasco thus far for Israel, and critiques general claims that the rise of Web 2.0 entails a democratic “leveling” effect in information wars like that over Israel-Palestine.

Diana Allan is an anthropologist and founder of two grassroots media projects in Lebanon. She is currently a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows.

Curtis Brown is a doctoral student in the English department at Harvard University.