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What you need to know about social media activism
Protests in the Middle East, known as "The Arab Spring," echoed around the world. On Friday, December 17, 2010, a fruit vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi covered himself in flammable liquid and lit a match. His body was quickly engulfed in flames and, despite attempts to save his life, Bouazizi died on January 4th, 2011. He was 26 years old. Like how Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation in Saigon nearly 50 years earlier represented the frustration of many Vietnamese, Bouazizi's action became symbolic of a much larger frustration in Tunisian society. What happened next, however, was a product of modern times: Word spread of Bouazizi's action through social networks, with Facebook specifically becoming a flashpoint for protest organizations across the country. By the time Tunisia's former leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, resigned and fled the country in mid-January 2011, over a fifth of Tunisia's population was on Facebook.
