Digital Uprising: The Internet Revolution in the Middle East

We use survey data from 2006–2007 to explore the implications of Internet use on political opinion in the Middle East, arguing that the Internet has had an equalizing effect when government filtering is low. Specifically, the findings indicate that Internet use had a positive effect on political knowledge, political participation, and attitudes about the United States/West and a negative effect on trust in government in Middle Eastern countries with relatively low government filtering practices. Conversely, there were no significant effects in countries with high filtering. Thus, the Internet has the potential to serve as an equalizing force in the region but only if filtering is at a minimum.