Your Webcam is now a Weapon of Mass Communication

What a great tag line! Talk Back TV Mideast is a video remix/mashup platform that takes aim at state-run media and "video propaganda" in the Middle East by helping users provide commentary (or rants) attached to those media clips. The philosophy of the project is that in the wake of the era of state-media, "robust media commentary tools will be critical to advance democracy and transparency in the region."

A lot of the commentary is political, highlighting cases of military violence, the torture and deaths of activists, voting rights, etc. If you want to learn more but don't understand Arabic, Global Voices has a nice little roundup of one of Khaled Eibid rants on Essam Atta, the 24-year-old Egyptian activist who was tortured and murdered by guards while in detention in a military prison.

According to the description on the site: 

TalkBackTVMideast is all about democracy, free speech and transparency. Our goal is to put next generation media commentary tools into the hands of bloggers, journalists, activists, and experts. TalkBackTV is the next step in web-video, content creation and community building. TalkBackTV will turn TV into a two-way conversation - a virtual web driven conversation.

Will Talk Back TV enable the Middle East's Jon Stewart to emerge, strengthen those who would criticize and satirize their political and social (not to mention religious) leaders, promote freedom of expression and free thought? One can hope so!

I like the site's approach to copyright as well, its emphasis on fair use and plea to content owners to facilitate such commentarial use.

Fair Use is the flip side of the copyright coin. The TalkBackTVMideast Platform enables the public to confront, and critique those who control the political, cultural and media power levers.

That’s not just Fair Use..…it’s Fair. I look forward to seeing what becomes of this project.