Battered by a French-led military campaign in Mali, al-Qaida's North African arm is trying something new to stay relevant: Twitter. The PR campaign by the terror network seeks to tap into social grievances and champion mainstream causes such as unemployment, all in a bid to reverse decline and win new followers.

US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine said Thursday that while the US will continue to campaign for internet freedom as important channel for public discourse, the same shouldn’t be used as a tool to attack others.

Because media freedom can best be advanced by partnerships between government and civil society groups, this year Human Rights First is delighted to join with the State Department in hosting this event. Human Rights First has a long record of defending free expression. Since our founding, we have helped arrange pro bono legal counsel and other assistance for more than 150 media people who have found themselves in the United States and unable to return safely to their home countries.

The creation of equalizing platforms like computers, smart phones, and tablet notebooks with access to the internet has superseded the need for the customary ingredients of open societies. The entire world is slowly becoming an open society, and even reclusive dictatorships scan Google Earth to see what was recently discovered.

Today, Google is arguably one of the most influential nonstate actors in international affairs, operating in security domains long the purview of nation-states: It tracks the global arms trade, spends millions creating crisis-alert tools to inform the public about looming natural disasters, monitors the spread of the flu, and acts as a global censor to protect American interests abroad.

On April 3, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo tweeted a link to a video of popular political satirist Jon Stewart. For most Twitter users, this would be nothing out of the ordinary. @USEmbassyCairo usually posts links to opportunities for Egyptians for exchange programs with the United States and the activities of the Mission's staff in English.

APDS Blogger: Alex Laverty

Jon Stewart, Bassem Youssef, & U.S. Embassy, Cairo: Reconceptualizing Diplomatic Norms in the Digital Age

U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine rejected the idea that relations between the U.S and Russia are deteriorating and said social networking should be used to forge better ties during her visit to Moscow.