Free speech activists in Afghanistan launched Twitter and Facebook campaigns on Sunday to fight government media curbs as well as to dispel incorrect information being perpetuated by clashing NATO and Taliban claims.
Both NATO and the Taliban have used social media in the past to perpetuate arguments and campaign for individual causes. And Afghani journalists have been pushed against a wall with the government's new, strict press freedom laws, leaving the public confused about the current state of affairs.
[More from Mashable: Aurora Police Confirm via Twitter: Controlled Detonation a Success]
Media advocacy groups like Nai have decided to fight back, encouraging the use of social media to provide the public with a more reliable and a somewhat more accessible form of information.
In the past, social media has been used to fight conditions like limited women's rights -- a topic the country's mainstream media can't easily cover without widespread backlash.
[More from Mashable: Internet Urges Batman to Visit Victims of ‘Dark Knight’ Shooting]
"Social media is a free tool to use to transfer information without the influences of the government, warlords, or Talibs,"Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, executive director of Afghan media advocacy group Nai, tells Reuters.
Though social media provides the platform for the message, Nai is finding it difficult to gather the audience -- only two million of Afghanistan's 30 million people have Internet access, Reuters reports. This could be attributed to the previous ban on Internet Taliban forces put in place to make sure people were not viewing anti-Islamic material online.
It is even less common for women to have access to most social media accounts, but Facebook's more stringent privacy settings have caused the social network to become the most popular among females in Afghanistan.
Khalvatgar says Nai's mission is to convince organizations and government officials to make the use of the Internet and social media less taboo, and in turn create a larger space for dialogue.
"If we increase the number of social media users, we increase dissemination of knowledge. By giving people voices on social networks, you give them hope," Khalvatgar says.
Do you think social networks have given you a stronger voice or a sense of hope? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Gersyko.
This story originally published on Mashable here.