Bridges Mark Zuckerberg Destroyed

Facebook advocates bridges, but it has divided the world more than ever

By Hossein Derakhshan

Mark Zuckerberg appeared presidential last month. In a speech he gave at an annual Facebook event, he said traveling around the world has worried him: “I am starting to see people and nations turning inward — against this idea of a connected world and a global community.”

He showed dismay for “fearful voices calling for building walls and distancing people they label as ‘others.’” Then, like a powerful world leader, he called on everyone: “Instead of building walls, we can help people build bridges. And instead of dividing people, we can help bring people together.”

The open web could have been a remedy at a time when closed borders rule.

That is all quite ironic to me, and I’ll tell you why. In 2014, I was pardoned and released from a prison in Tehran where I spent six years over my web activism. Before I was imprisoned in 2008, all the hype and rage on the internet was found on blogs.

Blogs were the best thing that had ever happened on the internet. They democratised writing and publishing — at least in many parts of the world. They gave a voice to many silenced groups…