Iraqi Teens Are Using Sharing App 'Whisper' To Express Their Angst Amid Social Media Blackout
The Republic of Iraq has gone to extreme measures to prevent extremist militant organization ISIS from organizing an insurgence in the country.
As of yesterday, social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and YouTube were blocked in Iraq.
But we're learning that one platform has prevailed: Anonymous sharing app Whisper. The Editor in Chief at Whisper, Neetzan Zimmerman, shared some of the messages that have been posted to Whisper since the rest of the networks went down.
The messages are quite possible the only virtual connection available.
Whisper/Neetzan Zimmerman
Interestingly, the app is most popular amongst teenagers, so the messages coming from Iraq via Whisper sound particularly adolescent. It's an incredible perspective; when you melt down the political jargon and war-related buzzwords, you see the fears and concerns of a community of young people.
The themes are not dissimilar from the messages you might expect from teenagers anywhere else in the world.
Whisper/Neetzan Zimmerman
The messages are honest
.
We reported Friday that the ban on social media in Iraq is not the first of its kind. In March, Turkey also blocked Twitter and YouTube after allegations of government corruption. Twitter has a history of complying with governments when they ask to censor politically-charged content.
Zimmerman has storified all of the Whisper messages coming out of Iraq here.