I once said, "If you want to liberate a society, all you need is the Internet." I was wrong.
我曾说过, “如果你想要解放社会, 你只需要互联网。” 我错了。
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.
我说这番话的时候是2011年, 我匿名创建了一个脸书主页 这个主页引发了埃及革命。 阿拉伯之春展示了 社交媒体的巨大潜力, 但同时也暴露了其最大缺点。 这个我们让我们集结在一起 推翻独裁者的工具 最终也将我们撕裂。 我想分享我使用社交媒体 来推动社会变革的经验, 来讨论我面对的一些挑战 以及我们能够做些什么。
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.
在21世纪第一个十年的早期, 阿拉伯人在网上的活动蔓延开来。 渴望知识、机遇 连结世界上的其他人, 我们逃离了沮丧的政治现实 活在虚拟的,用以替代现实的人生。 和他们中的很多人一样,在2009年前, 我完全没有任何政治立场。 那时,我登入社交媒体, 我开始看到越来越多的埃及人 呼吁这个国家政治变革。 我感到自己并不是唯一的那个。
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."
在2010年的6月, 网络永久改变了我的人生。 在浏览脸书网站时, 我看到一张照片,一张可怕的照片, 是一个年轻埃及男子的尸体 留有被折磨过的痕迹。 他的名字是卡勒德·赛义德。 哈勒德是一名39岁的亚历山大城居民, 他被警察杀害。 在他的照片中我看到了自己。 我想,“我也可能是哈勒德。”
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.
那晚我无法入睡, 我决定要做些事。 我匿名创建了脸书页面 名叫“我们都是哈勒德·赛义德。” 3天内,页面追随者超过了10万人, 他们是有着同样担忧的埃及人。 正在发生的这些事必须停止。
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.
我招募了我的管理伙伴, 阿德哈曼·曼索。 我们长时间一起工作。 我们把人们的想法集中起来, 让人们参与进来。 我们组织集体行动, 分享当局不愿让埃及人知道的事。 这个页面成为阿拉伯世界 最受欢迎的页面。 页面的粉丝比现有的媒体要多 甚至比当红明星还要多。
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."
在2011年1月14日, 本·阿里逃离了突尼西亚, 在大量的抗议人群反对他的政权之后。 我看到了一丝希望。 社交媒体上的埃及人想, “突尼西亚做到了,为什么我们不能呢?” 我在脸书上公布了一个活动 “反对腐败、不公正和独裁的革命。” 我向那时页面的30万粉丝提出问题: “今天是1月14日。 1月25日是警察日。 是一个世界性的节日。 如果我们中10万人走上 开罗街头, 没人能阻止我们。 我不知道我们能不能做到。”
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.
几天之内,这个邀请 就送达到超过1百万人, 超过10万人确认他们会参加。 社交媒体对这场运动至关重要。 它帮助了一个去中心化的 社会运动崛起。 它让人们意识到 他们并不是孤单。 它让政府无法阻挡。 在那时,政府甚至不懂那是什么。 在1月25日,埃及人 涌上开罗和其它城市的街头, 呼吁变革, 冲破恐惧 宣告新时代的到来。
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."
随后,后果出现了, 在政府切断互联网和电信的 几个小时以前, 深夜时分,我在开罗 一条黑暗的街道上行走。 我刚发了一条推特, “为埃及祈祷, 政府肯定计划明天采取大规模屠杀。”
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.
我的头被重重击打了。 我失去平衡跌倒在地上, 发现四个全副武装的男子 围绕着我。 一个捂住我的嘴巴 其余的让我失去行动能力。 我知道自己被国安局绑架了。
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.
我发现自己在监狱里, 带着手铐,被蒙住眼睛。 我很害怕。 我的家人也很害怕, 他们开始寻找我 在医院,在警察局, 甚至是停尸房。
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.
在我消失后, 那些知道我是页面管理员的同事 告诉媒体我与那个页面的关联, 我很有可能被国安局监禁了。 我在Google的同事开始了搜索运动, 想要寻找我的下落, 很多抗议者在广场呼吁 我被释放。
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.
在完全黑暗的11天后, 我自由了。 又过了3天, 穆巴拉克被迫下台。 那是我人生最激动的时刻。 那是怀抱伟大希望的时刻。 在革命时的18天里, 埃及人活在乌托邦中。 他们有着同样的信仰 大家可以求同存异地 生活在一起, 穆巴拉克之后的埃及 将是和平包容的国度。
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.
但不幸的是, 后革命时代的事件 就像胸口挨的重拳。 欢快逐渐消失, 我们未能成功达成共识, 政治斗争演变成了强烈的两极化。 社交媒体只是放大言论, 帮助传播错误的信息、谣言, 重复的口号和仇恨言论。 环境完全被毒害了。 我的网络世界变成了战场 充斥着轮番大声高唱的谎言和仇恨言论。 我开始担心我家人的安危。 但显然,这并不只是针对我。 两极分化在两个主要势力对抗下 到达了巅峰 军队支持者和伊斯兰教主义者。 在中间的人们,和我一样, 开始感到无助。 两个集团都希望你站在他们一边; 你要么是伙伴,要么是敌人。 在2013年7月3日, 在持续三天的公众抗议 呼吁他下台之后, 军队驱赶了埃及历史上 第一个民主选举产生的总统。
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.
那天我做出了一个艰难地决定。 我决定沉默,完全沉默。 那是挫败的时刻。 我沉默了两年多, 我花时间反思 过去发生的一切, 想要理解 为什么那一切会发生。 我理解到 是的,两极化最初是由 我们的人性驱使, 社交媒体塑造这个行为 并且放大了它的影响。 比如你想要说些 并不是基于事实的话, 挑起斗争 或是忽略某个你讨厌的人。 这都是人类天生的冲动, 但因为科技, 让这些冲动发酵 只要一个点击而已。
In my view, there are five critical challenges facing today's social media.
我的观点是, 今天的社交媒体面对 5个严峻的挑战。
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.
首先,我们不知道如何应对谣言。 那些展示人们偏见的谣言 被相信,并向数百万人群传播。
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.
第二,我们创建了自己的回音室。 我们往往只和那些 与我们观点相同的人沟通, 感谢社交媒体, 我们能够静音,取消关注 和屏蔽其他人。
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.
第三,线上讨论 很快演变成愤怒的暴民。 我们所有人可能都了解这些。 这就如同我们忘记了 屏幕里面的人是真实的人类 而不是阿凡达。
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.
第四,改变自己的观点 变得很困难, 因为社交媒体快速和简短的特征, 我们很快跳到结论 在140个字中书写 有关复杂全球时政的 犀利的观点。 当我们这样做的时候, 这些观点永远存在于互联网上, 我们缺少改变这些观点的动力, 即便是在新证据出现的情况下。
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.
第五-- 在我看来, 这是最最重要的-- 今天,我们的社交媒体经验 被设计为 利于传播而不是参与, 利于张贴而不是讨论, 利于浅薄的观点而不是深度的讨论。 就好像我们认为 自己是来这里对着他人说教 而不是与他人对话。
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.
我目睹这些严峻挑战是如何影响 埃及这个已是两极分化的社会, 但是,这并不只是关于埃及。 两极化在全球范围内升温。 我们要努力寻找 科技如何成为解决方案的一部分, 而不是麻烦的一部分。
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.
当今有很多争论 关于如何对抗线上骚扰 以及解决重复宣告的问题。 这很重要。 没人会反对。 但我们也需要思考 如何设计社交媒体经验 来推动礼貌和回报体贴。 我知道 如果我写一个更加耸动, 更加一边倒, 有时是气愤和激进的帖子, 会有更多人关注到这个帖子。 我会吸引更多注意力。
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.
但是如果我更加关注质量呢? 哪个更重要呢: 你写的帖子的总阅读量, 还是是谁在阅读,谁有更大的影响力 在阅读你写的帖子? 为什么不能创造更大的动机 让人们参与对话, 而非一直宣传观点? 或是奖励人们阅读 和评论那些他们不同意的观点? 同时,让改变自己的观点 变成社会所接纳的行为, 或者可能的话,奖励这样的行为? 如果我们有一个模型 可以显示有多少人改变他们的观点, 成为社交媒体经验的一部分? 如果我能追踪多少人改变了想法, 我可能会写得更认真仔细, 试图更有说服力, 而不是在那些和我观点相同的人那里 获得“赞”,因为我只是在 确认他们的偏见。
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.
我们也需要思考 有效地众包机制, 来查实广为传播的网络信息, 奖励那些参与进来的人。 从本质上讲,我们需要重新思考 今天的社交媒体系统, 重新设计它的经验 来奖励深思、礼貌和互相了解。
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.
作为互联网的信徒 我和一些朋友合作, 开启了一个新项目, 试图寻找答案和探索多种可能性。 我们的第一个产品是 新的谈话性媒体平台。 我们举办对谈活动 来促进相互理解 希望改变看法。 我们没有答案, 但我们开始试验不同的谈话活动 关于非常有争议的问题, 比如种族、限制枪支、 有关难民的争论、 伊斯兰和恐怖主义之间的关系, 这些都是重要的对话。
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.
今天,世界上三分之一的人 能够连接上互联网。 但是互联网的一部分被 人类习性中 不那么高尚的方面俘虏了。
Five years ago, I said, "If you want to liberate society, all you need is the Internet."
五年前,我说, “如果你想要解放社会, 你需要互联网。”
Today, I believe if we want to liberate society, we first need to liberate the Internet.
今天,我相信 如果我们想要解放社会, 我们首先要解放互联网。
Thank you very much.
非常感谢。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)