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Wael Ghonim: Let's design social media that drives real change
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Wael Ghonim helped touch off the Arab Spring in his home of Egypt ... by setting up a simple Facebook page. As he reveals, once the revolution spilled onto the streets, it turned from hopeful to messy, then ugly and heartbreaking. And social media followed suit. What was once a place for crowdsourcing, engaging and sharing became a polarized battleground. Ghonim asks: What can we do about online behavior now? How can we use the Internet and social media to create civility and reasoned argument?
Wael Ghonim - Internet activist and computer engineer
Wael Ghonim believes that the Internet can be the most powerful platform for connecting humanity, if we can bring civility and thoughtful conversations back to it. Full bio
Wael Ghonim believes that the Internet can be the most powerful platform for connecting humanity, if we can bring civility and thoughtful conversations back to it. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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I once said,
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"If you want to liberate a society,
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all you need is the Internet."
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I was wrong.
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I said those words back in 2011,
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when a Facebook page I anonymously created
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helped spark the Egyptian revolution.
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The Arab Spring revealed
social media's greatest potential,
social media's greatest potential,
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but it also exposed
its greatest shortcomings.
its greatest shortcomings.
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The same tool that united us
to topple dictators
to topple dictators
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eventually tore us apart.
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I would like to share my own experience
in using social media for activism,
in using social media for activism,
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and talk about some of the challenges
I have personally faced
I have personally faced
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and what we could do about them.
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In the early 2000s,
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Arabs were flooding the web.
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Thirsty for knowledge, for opportunities,
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for connecting with the rest
of the people around the globe,
of the people around the globe,
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we escaped our frustrating
political realities
political realities
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and lived a virtual, alternative life.
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Just like many of them,
I was completely apolitical until 2009.
I was completely apolitical until 2009.
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At the time, when I logged
into social media,
into social media,
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I started seeing more and more Egyptians
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aspiring for political change
in the country.
in the country.
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It felt like I was not alone.
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In June 2010,
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Internet changed my life forever.
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While browsing Facebook,
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I saw a photo, a terrifying photo,
of a tortured, dead body
of a tortured, dead body
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of a young Egyptian guy.
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His name was Khaled Said.
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Khaled was a 29-year-old Alexandrian
who was killed by police.
who was killed by police.
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I saw myself in his picture.
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I thought, "I could be Khaled."
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I could not sleep that night,
and I decided to do something.
and I decided to do something.
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I anonymously created a Facebook page
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and called it "We are all Khaled Said."
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In just three days, the page
had over 100,000 people,
had over 100,000 people,
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fellow Egyptians who shared
the same concern.
the same concern.
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Whatever was happening had to stop.
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I recruited my co-admin,
AbdelRahman Mansour.
AbdelRahman Mansour.
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We worked together for hours and hours.
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We were crowdsourcing
ideas from the people.
ideas from the people.
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We were engaging them.
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We were calling collectively for actions,
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and sharing news that the regime
did not want Egyptians to know.
did not want Egyptians to know.
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The page became the most followed page
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in the Arab world.
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It had more fans than established
media organizations
media organizations
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and even top celebrities.
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On January 14, 2011,
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Ben Ali fled out of Tunisia
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after mounting protests
against his regime.
against his regime.
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I saw a spark of hope.
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Egyptians on social media were wondering,
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"If Tunisia did it, why can't we?"
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I posted an event
on Facebook and called it
on Facebook and called it
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"A Revolution against Corruption,
Injustice and Dictatorship."
Injustice and Dictatorship."
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I posed a question to the 300,000 users
of the page at the time:
of the page at the time:
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"Today is the 14th of January.
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The 25th of January is Police Day.
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It's a national holiday.
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If 100,000 of us take
to the streets of Cairo,
to the streets of Cairo,
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no one is going to stop us.
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I wonder if we could do it."
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In just a few days, the invitation
reached over a million people,
reached over a million people,
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and over 100,000 people
confirmed attendance.
confirmed attendance.
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Social media was crucial
for this campaign.
for this campaign.
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It helped a decentralized movement arise.
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It made people realize
that they were not alone.
that they were not alone.
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And it made it impossible
for the regime to stop it.
for the regime to stop it.
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At the time, they didn't
even understand it.
even understand it.
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And on January 25th, Egyptians flooded
the streets of Cairo and other cities,
the streets of Cairo and other cities,
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calling for change,
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breaking the barrier of fear
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and announcing a new era.
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Then came the consequences.
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A few hours before the regime cut off
the Internet and telecommunications,
the Internet and telecommunications,
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I was walking in a dark street
in Cairo, around midnight.
in Cairo, around midnight.
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I had just tweeted, "Pray for Egypt.
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The government must be planning
a massacre tomorrow."
a massacre tomorrow."
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I was hit hard on my head.
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I lost my balance and fell down,
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to find four armed men surrounding me.
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One covered my mouth
and the others paralyzed me.
and the others paralyzed me.
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I knew I was being kidnapped
by state security.
by state security.
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I found myself in a cell,
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handcuffed, blindfolded.
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I was terrified.
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So was my family,
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who started looking for me
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in hospitals, police stations
and even morgues.
and even morgues.
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After my disappearance,
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a few of my fellow colleagues who knew
I was the admin of the page
I was the admin of the page
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told the media about
my connection with that page,
my connection with that page,
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and that I was likely arrested
by state security.
by state security.
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My colleagues at Google started
a search campaign trying to find me,
a search campaign trying to find me,
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and the fellow protesters in the square
demanded my release.
demanded my release.
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After 11 days of complete darkness,
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I was set free.
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And three days later,
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Mubarak was forced to step down.
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It was the most inspiring
and empowering moment of my life.
and empowering moment of my life.
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It was a time of great hope.
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Egyptians lived a utopia for 18 days
during the revolution.
during the revolution.
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They all shared the belief
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that we could actually live together
despite our differences,
despite our differences,
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that Egypt after Mubarak would be for all.
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But unfortunately,
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the post-revolution events
were like a punch in the gut.
were like a punch in the gut.
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The euphoria faded,
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we failed to build consensus,
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and the political struggle
led to intense polarization.
led to intense polarization.
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Social media only amplified that state,
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by facilitating the spread
of misinformation, rumors,
of misinformation, rumors,
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echo chambers and hate speech.
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The environment was purely toxic.
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My online world became a battleground
filled with trolls, lies, hate speech.
filled with trolls, lies, hate speech.
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I started to worry
about the safety of my family.
about the safety of my family.
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But of course, this wasn't just about me.
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The polarization reached its peak
between the two main powers --
between the two main powers --
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the army supporters and the Islamists.
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People in the center, like me,
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started feeling helpless.
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Both groups wanted you to side with them;
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you were either with them or against them.
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And on the 3rd of July 2013,
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the army ousted Egypt's first
democratically elected president,
democratically elected president,
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after three days of popular protest
that demanded his resignation.
that demanded his resignation.
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That day I made a very hard decision.
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I decided to go silent, completely silent.
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It was a moment of defeat.
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I stayed silent for more than two years,
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and I used the time to reflect
on everything that happened,
on everything that happened,
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trying to understand why did it happen.
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It became clear to me
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that while it's true that polarization
is primarily driven
is primarily driven
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by our human behavior,
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social media shapes this behavior
and magnifies its impact.
and magnifies its impact.
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Say you want to say something
that is not based on a fact,
that is not based on a fact,
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pick a fight or ignore
someone that you don't like.
someone that you don't like.
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These are all natural human impulses,
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but because of technology,
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acting on these impulses
is only one click away.
is only one click away.
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In my view, there are five
critical challenges
critical challenges
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facing today's social media.
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First, we don't know
how to deal with rumors.
how to deal with rumors.
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Rumors that confirm people's biases
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are now believed and spread
among millions of people.
among millions of people.
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Second, we create our own echo chambers.
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We tend to only communicate
with people that we agree with,
with people that we agree with,
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and thanks to social media,
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we can mute, un-follow
and block everybody else.
and block everybody else.
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Third, online discussions
quickly descend into angry mobs.
quickly descend into angry mobs.
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All of us probably know that.
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It's as if we forget
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that the people behind screens
are actually real people
are actually real people
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and not just avatars.
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And fourth, it became really hard
to change our opinions.
to change our opinions.
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Because of the speed
and brevity of social media,
and brevity of social media,
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we are forced to jump to conclusions
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and write sharp opinions in 140 characters
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about complex world affairs.
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And once we do that,
it lives forever on the Internet,
it lives forever on the Internet,
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and we are less motivated
to change these views,
to change these views,
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even when new evidence arises.
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Fifth -- and in my point of view,
this is the most critical --
this is the most critical --
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today, our social media experiences
are designed in a way
are designed in a way
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that favors broadcasting over engagements,
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posts over discussions,
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shallow comments over deep conversations.
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It's as if we agreed that
we are here to talk at each other
we are here to talk at each other
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instead of talking with each other.
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I witnessed how these
critical challenges contributed
critical challenges contributed
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to an already polarized
Egyptian society,
Egyptian society,
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but this is not just about Egypt.
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Polarization is on the rise
in the whole world.
in the whole world.
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We need to work hard on figuring out
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how technology could be
part of the solution,
part of the solution,
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rather than part of the problem.
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There's a lot of debate today
on how to combat online harassment
on how to combat online harassment
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and fight trolls.
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This is so important.
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No one could argue against that.
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But we need to also think about how
to design social media experiences
to design social media experiences
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that promote civility
and reward thoughtfulness.
and reward thoughtfulness.
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I know for a fact
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if I write a post
that is more sensational,
that is more sensational,
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more one-sided, sometimes
angry and aggressive,
angry and aggressive,
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I get to have more people see that post.
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I will get more attention.
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But what if we put more focus on quality?
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What is more important:
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the total number of readers
of a post you write,
of a post you write,
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or who are the people who have impact
that read what you write?
that read what you write?
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Couldn't we just give people more
incentives to engage in conversations,
incentives to engage in conversations,
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rather than just broadcasting
opinions all the time?
opinions all the time?
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Or reward people for reading
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and responding to views
that they disagree with?
that they disagree with?
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And also, make it socially acceptable
that we change our minds,
that we change our minds,
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or probably even reward that?
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What if we have a matrix that says
how many people changed their minds,
how many people changed their minds,
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and that becomes part
of our social media experience?
of our social media experience?
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If I could track how many people
are changing their minds,
are changing their minds,
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I'd probably write more
thoughtfully, trying to do that,
thoughtfully, trying to do that,
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rather than appealing to the people
who already agree with me
who already agree with me
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and "liking" because I just
confirmed their biases.
confirmed their biases.
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We also need to think about effective
crowdsourcing mechanisms,
crowdsourcing mechanisms,
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to fact-check widely spread
online information,
online information,
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and reward people who take part in that.
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In essence, we need to rethink
today's social media ecosystem
today's social media ecosystem
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and redesign its experiences
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to reward thoughtfulness, civility
and mutual understanding.
and mutual understanding.
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As a believer in the Internet,
I teamed up with a few friends,
I teamed up with a few friends,
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started a new project,
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trying to find answers
and explore possibilities.
and explore possibilities.
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Our first product is a new
media platform for conversations.
media platform for conversations.
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We're hosting conversations
that promote mutual understanding
that promote mutual understanding
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and hopefully change minds.
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We don't claim to have the answers,
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but we started experimenting
with different discussions
with different discussions
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about very divisive issues,
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such as race, gun control,
the refugee debate,
the refugee debate,
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relationship between Islam and terrorism.
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These are conversations that matter.
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Today, at least one out of three
people on the planet
people on the planet
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have access to the Internet.
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But part of this Internet
is being held captive
is being held captive
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by the less noble aspects
of our human behavior.
of our human behavior.
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Five years ago, I said,
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"If you want to liberate society,
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all you need is the Internet."
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Today, I believe if we want
to liberate society,
to liberate society,
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we first need to liberate the Internet.
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wael Ghonim - Internet activist and computer engineerWael Ghonim believes that the Internet can be the most powerful platform for connecting humanity, if we can bring civility and thoughtful conversations back to it.
Why you should listen
Wael Ghonim is a computer engineer, an Internet activist, and a social entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of Parlio, a new media platform for public conversations that rewards civility, which has been acquired by Quora. Wael is a senior fellow at Ash Center for Democratic Governance at Harvard University.
Wael spent 6 years at Google during which he used to head up Marketing and Product in the MENA region responsible of driving the growth of Google's products across the region and evangelizing the use of the Internet and growing the Arabic content in the region.
In 2011, Wael was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was named one of Time 100's most influential and received JFK Profile in Courage Award. Coined the "keyboard freedom fighter," he used the power of the internet and social media to fight for social justice, democracy and human rights in Egypt.
He is the founder of "Tahrir Academy", a nonprofit online knowledge sharing platform for Arab youth. Wael received his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering from Cairo University and earned an MBA from the American University in Cairo.
Wael Ghonim | Speaker | TED.com