Sudan President Fights Social Networking Protests With Social Networking

“The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir has called on his supporters to use Facebook in order to overcome groups that are opposed to his rule. Bashir made the call during his visit to North Kordofan state on Tuesday where he inaugurated a power plant. Sudan official news agency (SUNA) cited Bashir as instructing authorities to pay more attention towards extending electricity to the countryside so that the younger citizens can use computers and internet to combat opposition through social networking sites such as Facebook.”
 — Man, that’s some quick co-opting! Just last month, protesters used social networking sites to organize demonstrations against Al-Hashir. Those demonstrations were quickly shut down by police who took dozens of the protesters to jail.