AnswersWorld Literature CR SUSD EXAnalyzing and Evaluating Arguments

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Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace. . . . . . . The study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. . . . Data from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. When looking specifically at those with a college education, use of social media for obtaining political information is more prevalent than in other segments of the population. Though most of the country is disconnected from the internet, 84% of those who are online say they visit social networking sites for news about Egypt’s political situation. These findings point to social media’s important role in spreading information, but do not necessarily indicate that social media was a mobilizing force in the uprisings. Passing along information is an important part of the news process. Earlier [Project for Excellence in Journalism] research finds the role of Twitter in disseminating breaking news is not limited to the Arab uprisings—the death of Whitney Houston, for example, was announced on Twitter 55 minutes prior to the [Associated Press] confirming the story. What types of evidence do the authors use in this excerpt? Choose three correct answers.

A
testimony about how social media use has changed in Egypt
B
a statistic supporting the claim that social media use in Egypt is not widespread
C
data related to the decline of social media use after the Arab Spring
D
an example that compares how traditional media and social media handle a news story
E
research related to the popular use of social media in Egypt
2
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Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Almost immediately after the Arab uprisings began, there was debate over the role and influence of social media in the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the imminent overthrow of [Egyptian president Hosni] Mubarak . In covering what some deemed the Facebook or Twitter revolutions, the media focused heavily on young protesters mobilizing in the streets in political opposition, smartphones in hand. And since then, the violent and sectarian unrest in Syria has brought increased attention to the role of citizen journalism. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. What is the claim in this excerpt?

A
During the Arab uprisings, media outlets focused on young protesters, who were unimportant in the struggle.
B
Social media affected the Arab uprisings, but its impact was not what the news media originally thought it was.
C
Media descriptions of the Arab uprisings related to Facebook or Twitter diminished interest in citizen journalism.
D
Social media affected the Arab uprisings, but its impact was not felt as strongly in Egypt as in other countries.
5

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Almost immediately after the Arab uprisings began, there was debate over the role and influence of social media in the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the imminent overthrow of [Egyptian president Hosni] Mubarak. In covering what some deemed the Facebook or Twitter revolutions, the media focused heavily on young protesters mobilizing in the streets in political opposition, smartphones in hand. And since then, the violent and sectarian unrest in Syria has brought increased attention to the role of citizen journalism. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. What evidence could be used to support the authors’ claims in this excerpt? Choose three correct answers.

A
tweets (Twitter messages) describing the overthrow of Ben Ali at the time it happened
B
speeches that give biographical accounts of the life and accomplishments of Mubarak
C
quotations from experts on social media use during uprisings within the Arab world
D
journal entries from a student describing how social media helped him join a protest
E
verifiable facts that help explain that social media has little effect on citizen journalism
6

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. Which quotations give specific evidence in support of the claim? Choose three correct answers.

A
“Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings.”
B
“Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt.”
C
“Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of ‘the internet, mobile phones, and social media’ in the protests.”
D
“Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement.”
E
“Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings.”
7

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit.ly links from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain. Bit.ly links, or short URLs, are predominantly used in social media such as Twitter. The authors came to some conclusions that countered the initial assumption that social media was a causal mechanism in the uprisings. Instead, the study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. "New [or social] media outlets that use bit.ly links are more likely to spread information outside of the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry." Data from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. When looking specifically at those with a college education, use of social media for obtaining political information is more prevalent than in other segments of the population. Though most of the country is disconnected from the internet, 84% of those who are online say they visit social networking sites for news about Egypt’s political situation. These findings point to social media’s important role in spreading information, but do not necessarily indicate that social media was a mobilizing force in the uprisings. What types of evidence do the authors use in this excerpt? Choose two correct answers.

A
an eyewitness account that explains how social media posts may have caused the uprisings
B
a personal story that explains the authors’ interest in social media use during the uprisings
C
verifiable facts that explain why social media's impact was so broad during the uprisings
D
statistics that describe Egyptians’ use of the internet and social media during the uprisings
E
data showing the widespread use of social media in countries involved in the uprisings
8

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit.ly links from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain. Bit.ly links, or short URLs, are predominantly used in social media such as Twitter. The authors came to some conclusions that countered the initial assumption that social media was a causal mechanism in the uprisings. Instead, the study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. "New [or social] media outlets that use bit.ly links are more likely to spread information outside of the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry." Data from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. What reasons do the authors give to support their claim about the importance of social media in the Arab uprisings? Choose two correct answers.

A
the clarification that Twitter is relatively new and frequently used
B
the explanation that most Egyptians do not use the technology
C
the fact that information from bit.ly links was shared around the world
D
the detail that a US institute collected data in multiple countries
E
the description of social media as a causal mechanism
11

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Passing along information is an important part of the news process. Earlier [Project for Excellence in Journalism] research finds the role of Twitter in disseminating breaking news is not limited to the Arab uprisings—the death of Whitney Houston, for example, was announced on Twitter 55 minutes prior to the [Associated Press] confirming the story. Twitter, Facebook and other new media offer ways for the Arab-American news media to reach audiences, but also pose a threat to smaller outlets. In addition to keeping up with the online presence of larger news organizations, Arab-American media are forced to compete with user-generated content that is rapidly available to audiences. The utility of social media in accessing information became clear during the Arab uprisings and events such as Egypt’s parliamentary and presidential elections. However, [Suzanne] Manneh of New America Media points out that the credibility of this information is difficult to verify "depending on where it’s from, to whom it’s attributed, [and] especially when various events are happening very quickly." What reasons do the authors give to support the claim that social media both helps and threatens smaller media outlets? Choose two correct answers.

A
News organizations must compete with one another and with social media to reach audiences.
B
Small news outlets experience challenges when trying to compete with larger news outlets.
C
Information is sometimes shared on social media before it is released by traditional media.
D
Both small and large news organizations also depend on user-generated content.
E
Both social media and traditional news organizations cover Egypt’s presidential elections.
12

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit.ly links from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain. Bit.ly links, or short URLs, are predominantly used in social media such as Twitter. The authors came to some conclusions that countered the initial assumption that social media was a causal mechanism in the uprisings. Instead, the study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. "New [or social] media outlets that use bit.ly links are more likely to spread information outside of the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry." Data from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. When looking specifically at those with a college education, use of social media for obtaining political information is more prevalent than in other segments of the population. Though most of the country is disconnected from the internet, 84% of those who are online say they visit social networking sites for news about Egypt’s political situation. These findings point to social media’s important role in spreading information, but do not necessarily indicate that social media was a mobilizing force in the uprisings. What types of evidence do the authors use in this excerpt? Choose two correct answers.

A
an eyewitness account that explains how social media posts may have caused the uprisings
B
a personal story that explains the authors’ interest in social media use during the uprisings
C
data showing the widespread use of social media in countries involved in the uprisings
D
verifiable facts that explain why social media's impact was so broad during the uprisings
E
statistics that describe Egyptians’ use of the internet and social media during the uprisings
13

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace. . . . . . . The study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. . . . Data from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. When looking specifically at those with a college education, use of social media for obtaining political information is more prevalent than in other segments of the population. Though most of the country is disconnected from the internet, 84% of those who are online say they visit social networking sites for news about Egypt’s political situation. These findings point to social media’s important role in spreading information, but do not necessarily indicate that social media was a mobilizing force in the uprisings. Passing along information is an important part of the news process. Earlier [Project for Excellence in Journalism] research finds the role of Twitter in disseminating breaking news is not limited to the Arab uprisings—the death of Whitney Houston, for example, was announced on Twitter 55 minutes prior to the [Associated Press] confirming the story. What types of evidence do the authors use in this excerpt? Choose three correct answers.

A
data related to the decline of social media use after the Arab Spring
B
an example that compares how traditional media and social media handle a news story
C
a statistic supporting the claim that social media use in Egypt is not widespread
D
testimony about how social media use has changed in Egypt
E
research related to the popular use of social media in Egypt
14

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Almost immediately after the Arab uprisings began, there was debate over the role and influence of social media in the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the imminent overthrow of [Egyptian president Hosni] Mubarak. In covering what some deemed the Facebook or Twitter revolutions, the media focused heavily on young protesters mobilizing in the streets in political opposition, smartphones in hand. And since then, the violent and sectarian unrest in Syria has brought increased attention to the role of citizen journalism. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. What evidence could be used to support the authors’ claims in this excerpt? Choose three correct answers.

A
speeches that give biographical accounts of the life and accomplishments of Mubarak
B
journal entries from a student describing how social media helped him join a protest
C
quotations from experts on social media use during uprisings within the Arab world
D
verifiable facts that help explain that social media has little effect on citizen journalism
E
tweets (Twitter messages) describing the overthrow of Ben Ali at the time it happened
17

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Almost immediately after the Arab uprisings began, there was debate over the role and influence of social media in the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the imminent overthrow of [Egyptian president Hosni] Mubarak . In covering what some deemed the Facebook or Twitter revolutions, the media focused heavily on young protesters mobilizing in the streets in political opposition, smartphones in hand. And since then, the violent and sectarian unrest in Syria has brought increased attention to the role of citizen journalism. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. What is the claim in this excerpt?

A
Social media affected the Arab uprisings, but its impact was not what the news media originally thought it was.
B
During the Arab uprisings, media outlets focused on young protesters, who were unimportant in the struggle.
C
Social media affected the Arab uprisings, but its impact was not felt as strongly in Egypt as in other countries.
D
Media descriptions of the Arab uprisings related to Facebook or Twitter diminished interest in citizen journalism.
18

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit.ly links from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain. Bit.ly links, or short URLs, are predominantly used in social media such as Twitter. The authors came to some conclusions that countered the initial assumption that social media was a causal mechanism in the uprisings. Instead, the study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. "New [or social] media outlets that use bit.ly links are more likely to spread information outside of the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry." Data from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project at least somewhat supports this conclusion with its findings that the majority of Egyptians are not online. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet. What reasons do the authors give to support their claim about the importance of social media in the Arab uprisings? Choose two correct answers.

A
the fact that information from bit.ly links was shared around the world
B
the explanation that most Egyptians do not use the technology
C
the clarification that Twitter is relatively new and frequently used
D
the description of social media as a causal mechanism
E
the detail that a US institute collected data in multiple countries
19

Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. Which quotations give specific evidence in support of the claim? Choose three correct answers.

A
“Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings.”
B
“Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt.”
C
“Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of ‘the internet, mobile phones, and social media’ in the protests.”
D
“Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement.”
E
“Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings.”

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