social media
Could a digitally adept nation change the rules of public engagement and become an influence far beyond their physical and financial resources? Why not? For one thing, the digital diplomacy space needs positive presences. In some ways, it has become a slightly moribund arena, with innovation at a premium. It's a digital cliché, of course, but diplomacy needs its disruptors.
Indian diplomats are increasingly using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and country-specific social media networks to stay in touch with the world.
South Korea's president is cracking down on rumors in cyberspace in a campaign that threatens the popularity of Kakao Talk, the leading social media service in a country with ambitions to become a global technology leader.
Social media companies and governments in the United States, France and the United Kingdom have struggled to quell the noxious online presence of the Islamic State group. Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have undertaken a systematic effort to purge accounts affiliated with the militant organization.
As part of the IMPACT speaker series, Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States, Opher Aviran, spoke to Tech faculty and students to encourage political cooperation between the State of Israel and the Southeast United States. With the Gaza Strip crisis currently occurring, Aviran’s aim to strengthen ties is especially relevant.
![Photo reprinted courtesy CDC Global, via Flickr An Ebola isolation center in Freetown, Sierra Leone.](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/15005854897_dd2a2f1fab_k.jpg?itok=hBRpTVDA)
Former VOA Deputy Director on how international broadcasters can stem the tide of Ebola.
![Courtesy of Forbes.com (image free for reuse)](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/Finland%20Digital%20Diplomacy-%20picture%20source%20is%20Forbes.jpg?itok=PeikiJqc)
Discovering Digital Diplomacy: The Case of Mediatization in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland is a recent study by Aino Huxely that describes how the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs perceives and adopts Digital Diplomacy. The author chose Finland’s MFA as a case study because this ministry has had an active online strategy over the past few decades.
As ISIS and its supporters have turned to social media to spread extremist messages across the Middle Eastern region and world, the U.S. State Department has become an active player in the social media war against ISIS.