I once said, "If you want to liberate a society, all you need is the Internet." I was wrong.
Jednom sam rekao: "Ako želite da oslobodite društvo, sve što vam je potrebno je internet." Nisam bio u pravu.
I said those words back in 2011, when a Facebook page I anonymously created helped spark the Egyptian revolution. The Arab Spring revealed social media's greatest potential, but it also exposed its greatest shortcomings. The same tool that united us to topple dictators eventually tore us apart. I would like to share my own experience in using social media for activism, and talk about some of the challenges I have personally faced and what we could do about them.
Te reči sam izrekao 2011, kada je Fejsbuk stranica koju sam anonimno napravio potpomogla u pokretanju egipatske revolucije. Arapsko proleće je otkrilo najveći potencijal društvenih medija, ali je takođe razotkrilo njihove najveće mane. Isto ono oruđe koje nas je ujedinilo u svrgavanju diktatora, vremenom nas je razjedinilo. Želeo bih da podelim sopstveno iskustvo korišćenja društvenih medija u aktivizmu i da govorim o nekim od izazova sa kojima sam se lično suočio i šta bismo mogli da učinimo povodom njih.
In the early 2000s, Arabs were flooding the web. Thirsty for knowledge, for opportunities, for connecting with the rest of the people around the globe, we escaped our frustrating political realities and lived a virtual, alternative life. Just like many of them, I was completely apolitical until 2009. At the time, when I logged into social media, I started seeing more and more Egyptians aspiring for political change in the country. It felt like I was not alone.
Ranih 2000-ih, internet je bio preplavljen Arapima; žednim znanja, prilika, povezivanja sa ostatkom sveta. Bežali smo od frustrirajućih političkih stvarnosti i živeli smo virtuelni, alternativni život. Baš kao i većina, bio sam u potpunosti apolitičan do 2009. Kad sam se priključio društvenim medijima, počeo sam da viđam sve više Egipćana koji teže političkim promenama u zemlji. Osetio sam da nisam usamljen.
In June 2010, Internet changed my life forever. While browsing Facebook, I saw a photo, a terrifying photo, of a tortured, dead body of a young Egyptian guy. His name was Khaled Said. Khaled was a 29-year-old Alexandrian who was killed by police. I saw myself in his picture. I thought, "I could be Khaled."
Juna 2010, internet mi je zauvek promenio život. Dok sam pretraživao po Fejsbuku, ugledao sam sliku, zastrašujuću sliku izmučenog, mrtvog tela mladog Egipćanina. Zvao se Haled Said. Haled je bio 29-ogodišnji Aleksandrijac koga je ubila policija. Prepoznao sam se na toj slici. Pomislio sam: "Mogao bih da budem Haled."
I could not sleep that night, and I decided to do something. I anonymously created a Facebook page and called it "We are all Khaled Said." In just three days, the page had over 100,000 people, fellow Egyptians who shared the same concern. Whatever was happening had to stop.
Te noći nisam mogao da spavam i odlučio sam da nešto preduzmem. Anonimno sam napravio Fejsbuk stranicu i naslovio je "Svi smo Haled Said". Za samo tri dana, na stranici je bilo preko 100,000 ljudi, braće Egipćana koji su delili istu zabrinutost. Šta god da se dešavalo, moralo je da prestane.
I recruited my co-admin, AbdelRahman Mansour. We worked together for hours and hours. We were crowdsourcing ideas from the people. We were engaging them. We were calling collectively for actions, and sharing news that the regime did not want Egyptians to know. The page became the most followed page in the Arab world. It had more fans than established media organizations and even top celebrities.
Regrutovao sam saadministratora, Abdel-Rahmana Mansura. Zajedno smo radili satima. Sakupljali smo ideje od ljudi. Angažovali smo ih. Pozivali smo na kolektivno delanje i delili smo vesti koje režim nije želeo da Egipćani znaju. Stranica je postala najpraćenija u arapskom svetu. Imala je više fanova od renomiranih medijskih organizacija, pa čak i od vrhunskih zvezda.
On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali fled out of Tunisia after mounting protests against his regime. I saw a spark of hope. Egyptians on social media were wondering, "If Tunisia did it, why can't we?" I posted an event on Facebook and called it "A Revolution against Corruption, Injustice and Dictatorship." I posed a question to the 300,000 users of the page at the time: "Today is the 14th of January. The 25th of January is Police Day. It's a national holiday. If 100,000 of us take to the streets of Cairo, no one is going to stop us. I wonder if we could do it."
14. januara 2011, Ben Ali je pobegao iz Tunisa nakon nagomilanih protesta protiv njegovog režima. Video sam iskru nade. Egipćani su se na društvenim medijima pitali: "Ako je to Tunis uradio, zašto mi ne bismo mogli?" Postavio sam događaj na Fejsbuku i naslovio ga: "Revolucija protiv korupcije, nepravde i diktature." Postavio sam pitanje za 300,000 tadašnjih korisnika stranice: "Danas je 14. januar. 25. januar je Dan policije. To je nacionalni praznik. Ako 100,000 nas izađe na ulice Kaira, niko nas neće moći zaustaviti. Pitam se možemo li to."
In just a few days, the invitation reached over a million people, and over 100,000 people confirmed attendance. Social media was crucial for this campaign. It helped a decentralized movement arise. It made people realize that they were not alone. And it made it impossible for the regime to stop it. At the time, they didn't even understand it. And on January 25th, Egyptians flooded the streets of Cairo and other cities, calling for change, breaking the barrier of fear and announcing a new era.
Za samo nekoliko dana, poziv je dopro do preko milion ljudi, a preko 100,000 ljudi je potvrdilo dolazak. Društveni mediji su bili ključni za ovu kampanju. Potpomogli su nastajanje decentralizovanog pokreta. Pomogli su ljudima da shvate da nisu usamljeni. I bilo je nemoguće za režim da ga zaustavi. U to vreme, režim to nije čak ni razumevao. a 25. januara, Egipćani su prepavili ulice Kaira i drugih gradova, tražeći promene, razbijajući barijere straha i najavljujući novo doba.
Then came the consequences. A few hours before the regime cut off the Internet and telecommunications, I was walking in a dark street in Cairo, around midnight. I had just tweeted, "Pray for Egypt. The government must be planning a massacre tomorrow."
A onda su stigle posledice. Nekoliko sati pre nego što je režim ugasio internet i telekomunikacije, šetao sam mračnom ulicom u Kairu, oko ponoći. Upravo sam poslao tvit: "Molite se za Egipat. Vlada sigurno planira masakr sutra."
I was hit hard on my head. I lost my balance and fell down, to find four armed men surrounding me. One covered my mouth and the others paralyzed me. I knew I was being kidnapped by state security.
Udaren sam snažno u glavu. Izgubio sam ravnotežu i pao, otkrivši četiri naoružana muškarca kako me opkoljavaju. Jedan mi je pokrio usta, a drugi su me paralizovali. Znao sam da me je kidnapovala državna bezbednost.
I found myself in a cell, handcuffed, blindfolded. I was terrified. So was my family, who started looking for me in hospitals, police stations and even morgues.
Zatekao sam se u ćeliji, s lisicama na rukama, povezom preko očiju. Bio sam preplašen. Kao i moja porodica, koja je počela da me traži po bolnicama, policijskim stanicama, pa čak i mrtvačnicama.
After my disappearance, a few of my fellow colleagues who knew I was the admin of the page told the media about my connection with that page, and that I was likely arrested by state security. My colleagues at Google started a search campaign trying to find me, and the fellow protesters in the square demanded my release.
Nakon mog nestanka, nekoliko mojih kolega, koji su znali da sam administrator stranice, su saopštili medijima o mojoj povezanosti sa stranicom i da me je verovatno uhapsila državna bezbednost. Moje kolege iz Gugla su započele potragu za mnom, a kolege protestanti na trgu su zahtevali da me oslobode.
After 11 days of complete darkness, I was set free. And three days later, Mubarak was forced to step down. It was the most inspiring and empowering moment of my life. It was a time of great hope. Egyptians lived a utopia for 18 days during the revolution. They all shared the belief that we could actually live together despite our differences, that Egypt after Mubarak would be for all.
Nakon 11 dana potpunog mraka, oslobođen sam. A tri dana kasnije, Mubarak je primoran da se povuče. Bio je to najinspirativniji i najmoćniji trenutak u mom životu. Beše to vreme velikog nadanja. Egipćani su živeli u utopiji 18 dana tokom revolucije. Svi su delili verovanje da možemo da živimo zajedno, uprkos našim razlikama; da će Egipat nakon Mubaraka biti za sve.
But unfortunately, the post-revolution events were like a punch in the gut. The euphoria faded, we failed to build consensus, and the political struggle led to intense polarization. Social media only amplified that state, by facilitating the spread of misinformation, rumors, echo chambers and hate speech. The environment was purely toxic. My online world became a battleground filled with trolls, lies, hate speech. I started to worry about the safety of my family. But of course, this wasn't just about me. The polarization reached its peak between the two main powers -- the army supporters and the Islamists. People in the center, like me, started feeling helpless. Both groups wanted you to side with them; you were either with them or against them. And on the 3rd of July 2013, the army ousted Egypt's first democratically elected president, after three days of popular protest that demanded his resignation.
Međutim, nažalost, događaji nakon revolucije su bili poput udarca u stomak. Euforija je izbledela, nismo uspeli da postignemo konsenzus, a politička borba je dovela do intenzivne polarizacije. Društveni mediji su samo pojačali to stanje, omogućujući širenje dezinformacija, tračeva, eho komora i govora mržnje. Okruženje je bilo krajnje otrovno. Moj svet interneta je postao ratište ispunjeno trolovima, lažima, mržnjom. Postao sam zabrinut za bezbednost moje porodice. Ali, naravno, nije se radilo samo o meni. Polarizacija je dostigla vrhunac između dve glavne sile -- podržavalaca vojske i islamista. Ljudi u središtu, poput mene, počeli su da se osećaju nemoćno. Obe grupe su tražile da budete na njihovoj strani; bili ste s njima ili protiv njih. A 3. jula 2013, vojska je svrgla prvog egipatskog demokratski izabranog predsednika, nakon trodnevnih narodnih protesta kojima je zahtevana njegova ostavka.
That day I made a very hard decision. I decided to go silent, completely silent. It was a moment of defeat. I stayed silent for more than two years, and I used the time to reflect on everything that happened, trying to understand why did it happen. It became clear to me that while it's true that polarization is primarily driven by our human behavior, social media shapes this behavior and magnifies its impact. Say you want to say something that is not based on a fact, pick a fight or ignore someone that you don't like. These are all natural human impulses, but because of technology, acting on these impulses is only one click away.
Tog dana sam doneo veoma tešku odluku. Odlučio sam da ućutim, potpuno da ućutim. Bio je to trenutak poraza. Ćutao sam preko dve godine i iskoristio sam to vreme da se osvrnem na sve što se desilo, pokušavajući da shvatim zašto se desilo. Postalo mi je jasno da, iako je polarizacija pre svega vođena našim ljudskim ponašanjem, društveni mediji oblikuju dato ponašanje i pojačavaju njegov uticaj. Recimo da želite da kažete nešto što nema uporište u činjenicama, započnete svađu ili ignorišete nekoga ko vam se ne sviđa. Sve su to prirodni ljudski porivi, ali zahvaljujući tehnologiji, vođenje tim porivima je samo jedan klik od vas.
In my view, there are five critical challenges facing today's social media.
Po mom viđenju, društveni mediji se danas suočavaju s pet ključnih izazova.
First, we don't know how to deal with rumors. Rumors that confirm people's biases are now believed and spread among millions of people.
Prvo, ne znamo kako da se odnosimo prema tračevima. Tračevima koji učvršćuju ljudske predrasude se danas veruje i šire se među milionima ljudi.
Second, we create our own echo chambers. We tend to only communicate with people that we agree with, and thanks to social media, we can mute, un-follow and block everybody else.
Drugo, stvaramo sopstvene eho komore. Jedino komuniciramo s ljudima s kojima se slažemo, a zahvaljujući društvenim medijima, možemo da utišamo, prestanemo da pratimo i blokiramo sve ostale.
Third, online discussions quickly descend into angry mobs. All of us probably know that. It's as if we forget that the people behind screens are actually real people and not just avatars.
Treće, rasprave na internetu brzo prelaze u gnevne rulje. Svako od nas to verovatno zna. Kao da smo zaboravili da su ljudi iza ekrana zapravo stvarni ljudi, a ne puki avatari.
And fourth, it became really hard to change our opinions. Because of the speed and brevity of social media, we are forced to jump to conclusions and write sharp opinions in 140 characters about complex world affairs. And once we do that, it lives forever on the Internet, and we are less motivated to change these views, even when new evidence arises.
I četvrto, postalo je zaista teško promeniti naše mišljenje. Zbog brzine i kratkotrajnosti društvenih medija, prinuđeni smo na ishitrene zaključke i da pišemo oštra mišljenja u 140 karaktera o složenim svetskim pojavama. A jednom kad to napišemo, ostaje večno na internetu i mi smo manje motivisani da menjamo dati pogled, čak i kad se pojave novi dokazi.
Fifth -- and in my point of view, this is the most critical -- today, our social media experiences are designed in a way that favors broadcasting over engagements, posts over discussions, shallow comments over deep conversations. It's as if we agreed that we are here to talk at each other instead of talking with each other.
Peto - i s moje tačke gledišta, ovo je najkrucijalnije - danas su naša iskustva na društvenim medijima osmišljena tako da se favorizuje izveštavanje naspram angažovanosti, objave naspram rasprava, plitki komentari naspram dubokih razgovora. Kao da smo se dogovorili da smo tu da govorimo jedni drugima, umesto da govorimo jedni s drugima.
I witnessed how these critical challenges contributed to an already polarized Egyptian society, but this is not just about Egypt. Polarization is on the rise in the whole world. We need to work hard on figuring out how technology could be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
Bio sam svedok kako su ovi izazovi bili presudni za već polarizovano egipatsko društvo, ali ne radi se samo o Egiptu. Polarizacija je u usponu u čitavom svetu. Moramo vredno da radimo da bismo shvatili kako bi tehnologija mogla da bude deo rešenja, a ne deo problema.
There's a lot of debate today on how to combat online harassment and fight trolls. This is so important. No one could argue against that. But we need to also think about how to design social media experiences that promote civility and reward thoughtfulness. I know for a fact if I write a post that is more sensational, more one-sided, sometimes angry and aggressive, I get to have more people see that post. I will get more attention.
Trenutno se mnogo raspravlja o borbi protiv uznemiravanja na internetu i borbi protiv trolova. Ovo je veoma važno. Niko to ne može da spori. Ali bi trebalo i da razmišljamo o tome kako da osmislimo društvene medije koji bi promovisali učtivost i nagrađivali razboritost. Zasigurno znam, da ako napišem senzacionalističku objavu, jednostranu, ponekad besnu i agresivnu, više ljudi će da pogleda tu objavu. Dobiću veću pažnju.
But what if we put more focus on quality? What is more important: the total number of readers of a post you write, or who are the people who have impact that read what you write? Couldn't we just give people more incentives to engage in conversations, rather than just broadcasting opinions all the time? Or reward people for reading and responding to views that they disagree with? And also, make it socially acceptable that we change our minds, or probably even reward that? What if we have a matrix that says how many people changed their minds, and that becomes part of our social media experience? If I could track how many people are changing their minds, I'd probably write more thoughtfully, trying to do that, rather than appealing to the people who already agree with me and "liking" because I just confirmed their biases.
Šta ako bismo se više fokusirali na kvalitet? Šta je važnije: ukupan broj čitalaca vaše objave ili ko su uticajni ljudi koji čitaju to što ste napisali? Zar ne bi mogli da ljudima dajemo više podsticaja da se angažuju u raspravama, umesto što samo prenosimo mišljenja sve vreme? Ili da nagrađujemo ljude za čitanje i odgovaranje na stavove s kojima se ne slažu? I da učinimo društveno prihvatljivom promenu mišljenja ili da čak to nagrađujemo? Šta ako bismo imali matricu koja bi saopštavala koliko ljudi je promenilo mišljenje i da to postane deo našeg iskustva na društvenim medijima? Ako bih mogao da pratim koliko je ljudi promenilo svoje mišljenje, verovatno bih pisao promišljenije, pokušavajući da to postignem, umesto da apelujem na ljude koji se već slažu sa mnom i koji "lajkuju" samo zato što potvrđujem njihove predrasude.
We also need to think about effective crowdsourcing mechanisms, to fact-check widely spread online information, and reward people who take part in that. In essence, we need to rethink today's social media ecosystem and redesign its experiences to reward thoughtfulness, civility and mutual understanding.
Moramo i da razmišljamo o učinkovitim mehanizmima kolektivnog deljenja: proveri činjenica iz informacija koje se dele naširoko na internetu i da nagrađujemo ljude koji uzimaju učešća u tome. U suštini, moramo da se ponovo osvrnemo na trenutni ekosistem društvenih medija i da nanovo osmislimo iskustva na njima, da nagrađujemo promišljenost, učtivost i međusobno razumevanje.
As a believer in the Internet, I teamed up with a few friends, started a new project, trying to find answers and explore possibilities. Our first product is a new media platform for conversations. We're hosting conversations that promote mutual understanding and hopefully change minds. We don't claim to have the answers, but we started experimenting with different discussions about very divisive issues, such as race, gun control, the refugee debate, relationship between Islam and terrorism. These are conversations that matter.
Kao neko ko veruje u internet, udružio sam se s nekoliko prijatelja, započeo sam novi projekat, pokušavajući da nađem odgovore i da istražim mogućnosti. Naš prvi proizvod je nova medijska platforma za rasprave. Domaćini smo za rasprave koje promovišu međusobno razumevanje i nadam se da menjaju mišljenja. Ne tvrdimo da imamo odgovore, ali smo počeli da eksperimentišemo s različitim raspravama o izuzetno razdornim pitanjima, poput rase, kontrole oružja, debate o izbeglicama, vezi između islama i terorizma. To su bitni razgovori.
Today, at least one out of three people on the planet have access to the Internet. But part of this Internet is being held captive by the less noble aspects of our human behavior.
Trenutno, bar jedan od tri čoveka na planeti ima pristup internetu. Međutim deo interneta je zatočen od strane manje časnih aspekata našeg ljudskog ponašanja.
Five years ago, I said, "If you want to liberate society, all you need is the Internet."
Pre pet godina sam rekao: "Ako želite da oslobodite društvo, sve što vam je potrebno je internet."
Today, I believe if we want to liberate society, we first need to liberate the Internet.
Danas verujem da, ako želimo da oslobodimo društvo, prvo moramo da oslobodimo internet.
Thank you very much.
Mnogo vam hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)