<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">FYI,<br><br><b>Social Media and the ‘Spiral of Silence’</b><br><br><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/?utm_source=Pew+Internet+Newsletter&utm_campaign=26ae0dc2f6-Spiral_Silence_082614&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79a7fe984b-26ae0dc2f6-399112421">http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/?utm_source=Pew+Internet+Newsletter&utm_campaign=26ae0dc2f6-Spiral_Silence_082614&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79a7fe984b-26ae0dc2f6-399112421</a><br>

<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">An interesting report by Pew Research<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">

<br>We set out to study this by conducting a survey of 1,801 adults.<sup class=""><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/26/social-media-and-the-spiral-of-silence/?utm_source=Pew+Internet+Newsletter&utm_campaign=26ae0dc2f6-Spiral_Silence_082614&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_79a7fe984b-26ae0dc2f6-399112421#fn-11806-2" id="fnref-11806-2">2</a></sup>
 It focused on one important public issue: Edward Snowden’s 2013 
revelations of widespread government surveillance of Americans’ phone 
and email records. We selected this issue because other surveys by the 
Pew Research Center at the time we were fielding this poll showed that <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2013/06/17/public-split-over-impact-of-nsa-leak-but-most-want-snowden-prosecuted/">Americans were divided</a> over whether the NSA contractor’s leaks about surveillance were justified and whether the <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2014/01/20/obamas-nsa-speech-has-little-impact-on-skeptical-public/">surveillance policy itself was a good or bad idea.</a>
 For instance, Pew Research found in one survey that 44% say the release
 of classified information harms the public interest while 49% said it 
serves the public interest.<br><br>An informed citizenry depends on people’s exposure to information on 
important political issues and on their willingness to discuss these 
issues with those around them. The rise of social media, such as 
Facebook and Twitter, has introduced new spaces where political 
discussion and debate can take place. This report explores the degree to
 which social media affects a long-established human attribute—that 
those who think they hold minority opinions often self-censor, failing 
to speak out for fear of ostracism or ridicule. It is called the “spiral
 of silence.”<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Regards<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">

Gideon Rop<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">DotConnectAfrica<br></div></div>