'For Neda' Documentary Illustrates The Power Of Social Media In The Fight For Human Rights

Just a little over a year after protests erupted in Tehran and across social media sites over the Iranian election of 2009, a documentary called 'For Neda' has been released that illustrates the incredible power of video and the social web as tools for human rights activism. The video uncovers the story of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian woman who became a symbol for the Iranian opposition when a video of her death spread on the web. Read more and watch the documentary after the jump. 'For Neda' was released by director Antony Thomas and HBO and tells story of Neda and her life through interviews with her family. The documentary provides history on Iran's treatment of women, their no tolerance response to opposition and the antiquity of many of their enforced laws. However, one of the most interesting things that the documentary touches on is the power of social media in the fight for human rights. At the beginning of the documentary we see the infamous clip of Neda's death. (If you haven't seen the clip yet be forewarned, it is very graphic and unsettling.) Jared Cohen from the U.S. Department of State says, "The Neda video was, in my opinion, the world's most successful viral video. Someone who captured this video on their cell phone was able to get that video in the hands of presidents and prime ministers and kings and influential leaders all around the world in a matter of moments." If amateur videos of Neda's death had not been uploaded to the web the world may have never been able to grasp exactly what was going on in Iran and how brutally protesters were being treated. Steve Grove, Head of News & Politics at YouTube, talks about the important role video plays in human rights on the YouTube blog: "At its heart, human rights video is about making something visible that was not visible before. Seeing human rights abuses with our own eyes is very different than reading about the same abuses in a story or a blog post or a Tweet. In the past, we mainly saw these kinds of images in the nightly news or in documentaries -- and even then only occasionally. But now that camera usage and access to the Internet is much more widespread (including in many developing countries), we encounter human rights images much more directly. For example, Burma, Tibet and Iran are places where it's difficult for local or international media to report, so when mass protests were met with violent force, it falls on ordinary people to try to get images out. "Human rights video is about more than capturing images of abuse as they happen, however. Direct testimony from victims or local activists can provide powerful and compelling evidence of human rights violations. Testimonies like that of "Mary," a Zimbabwean political activist who was abducted, raped and beaten in a secret torture center after the disputed 2008 presidential elections in Zimbabwe, have unique power to help us see what those who have suffered human rights abuses see, to feel what they feel, and to hear what they want to happen." Neda's death spread like wildfire on the social web thanks to sites like YouTube and Twitter and rallied support for the Iranian opposition in countries around the globe. Without the visual proof provided by the video of Neda, people around the world would not have fully understood the severity of the situation in Iran and would not have jumped into action on Twitter, Facebook and in the streets of cities around the globe. These days we are in a unique position. We have a multitude of communication channels at our fingertips that allow us to share pictures, videos and text with the entire world instantly. 'For Neda' illustrates a new revolution in the fight for social rights and a new understanding and appreciation for what's going on in the world around us. Who would have thought that something as small as a video shot on somebody's cell phone would get the entire world to spring into action?

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'For Neda' Documentary Illustrates The Power Of Social Media In The Fight For Human Rights

Megan O'Neill

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Megan O'Neill