Rebellion 3.0: How Libyan rebels use Twitter to help NATO air strikes
In Tripoli and Misrata, rebel Twitter users are using the web service to share intelligence on Gaddafi forces with NATO military planners thousands of kilometers away. Here's a look at some of the tweeters telling the bombs where to fall.
These are not your average tweets.
- @2011feb17 is a Tripoli-based tweeter. We don't know much about him. As you'd expect, someone in his position needs to be careful about identity.He seems to collect information from friends and family all around Tripoli.Targeting information like the above is just one of the things he shares; his feed is a fascinating insight into the life of a rebel in Tripoli. When NATO admitted they'd mistakenly bombed a house instead of a missile silo in Tripoli, he even praised them for their honesty:
In Tripoli and Misrata, sources like @2011feb17 are generating a stream of raw intelligence about the combat zones and the position of Gaddafi's forces. They're constantly being monitored by official and non-official NATO profiles. Here's a look at some of the rebel Tweeters active in the Libyan conflict.
Libya-based, the main sources
Posts daily maps of the progress of rebel offensives against Gaddafi. A prime source for the land war.- "A Group Of Free People From Misratah That Seeks Freedom, Justice And Human Dignity ... There is admin in the UK"
Hourly updates on every bombing, battle, and Nato decision. - On June 15th, they posted this quietly poignant video of an act of defiance - hot-air balloons raise the rebel flag over Tripoli at dawn:
- Relaying from the UK and US
- "We are a group of Libyan Youth both in and out of Libya inspired by our brothers & sisters in Egypt and Tunisia. We'll do our best to bring Libya back Inshallah"
One of the people running this account is Janice Clinch, a retired auto shop manager who lives in rural Canada. She's never been to Libya, and she's the only non-Libyan in the group. But from her home in Ontario she relays a torrent of information about the conflict, sometimes tweeting the location of Gaddafi's troops by the hour. There's also a connected Facebook page. - "Born in Indonesia Spent best years in Sultanate of Oman Lost my heart to Egypt and not too long ago my home was on The Hadbah Road Tripoli Libya"Also not a Libyan, but extremely active in re-tweeting and aggregating intelligence tweets on Libya.
- "A very small team working constantly to keep the world updated with what is happening in the Libyan scene. We bring you news, footage, images and translations."
This group also runs a very interesting website, Libyafeb17.com. - @IbnOmar2005 is the Libyafeb17.com webmaster, and also tweets on his own personal account. He's generally seen as very reliable and therefore followed by major media sources.There's also the Libya Alhurra Blog, who are also active on Twitter.
- NATO and alliance accounts
