A lively debate has been under way for several years about the impact of the Internet on political life around the world. Some argue that the web enables opposition movements to get around state-controlled mass media and organize protest movements — with the Arab Spring being a prime example.
Others point to the Great Firewall of China, behind which the state uses the new technology to track down and suppress dissent, while flooding the Internet with pro-regime propaganda — from state-run websites to hiring bloggers to troll social media and newspaper chat rooms.
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