Dictators these days must resort to ever-trickier ways to prevent the truth of their failings from being made known via digital technology. Just one image in cyber space, such as the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan during Iran's protests, can plant doubts about a regime's claim to power – even among its supporters – and begin to erode its legitimacy.
At times, however, a regime's attempts to block online citizen activists are as desperate as its violent crackdowns are tragic.
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