Sunday, April 15, 2012

YouTube is an Intelligence Source



The article explains how the popular website, YouTube, is becoming an intelligence force especially in the case of the Arab Spring.  This article provides examples of how YouTube is so helpful in finding out important information and specific details on events that are occurring in Syria and throughout the world. An analyst in Washington said he relies heavily on YouTube to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Syrian army.  According to the article, “The social networks of Google Inc's YouTube, Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc, which provided global visibility for the uprisings of the Arab Spring, also have become important sources of information for US and other intelligence agencies.” I found this article very interesting because it shows how intelligence agencies, the United Nations and other organizations benefit from the use of social media. This article also shows how social media is helping us gain intelligence on what is occurring as a result of the Arab Spring. Social media allows us to see first hand what is occurring throughout the world, sometimes even as it is happening.  

1 comment:

  1. Cool article. I like how it tells us of other ways people are using the information they are finding. All we usually think about it how social media is used for riots and protests and to gather people to make a stronger force. It is definitely a good idea to use these sites for information but they just have to be careful as to what information to believe and the source it is coming from. If they have big plans for the information they find they should just make sure it is factual and isn't just some bored teenage kid who skipped school to make up stories online.

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