Current Events # 8 Paul Lewis and Social Networking

This TED talk shows Journalist Paul Lewis talking about new media, citizen journalism and how social media is changing the face of investigations.

This talk demonstrates just how transparent and accountable our society is coming considering just how prepared people in society are today to witness things. 5 years ago, people did not carry around their cameras, video cameras, voice recorders, etc wherever they went. However today, with the advancement and popularity of smart phones, most people have these tools at their fingertips at all times. No longer do we need to take someones word for the truth, we can now produce a copy of an event with great ease.


In the first story, Paul Lewis talks about using Twitter to find witnesses to the beating of a man at the G20 summit in London. Using the internet to post information, attention was drawn to this unjustice and a witness who made a video with his smart phone was able to produce the evidence necessary to prove that the police had wrongfully killed an innocent man.

Similarly, Paul Lewis talks about an incident that took place on a plane when a refugee was being returned home to Angola. He was being detained on a flight because he did not want to return to Angola and the men detaining him asphyxiated him. On the plane there were many witnesses to this event, however in the newspaper it was reported that the mad died in the hospital of natural causes. Upon further investigation through social networking tools, witnesses from around the world were able to step forward and recount the story for what actually took place.

Stories where investigation would have been impossible are now possible with the advancement and popularity of social networking. Paul Lewis' final message to his viewers is "if you encounter something you feel isn't right... why don't you witness it, record it, share it". This use of the Internet and web 2.0 tool is making citizens more accountable and also safer.