Crikey

Turns out just because CNN forgot to cover the Iranian Election story doesn’t mean the world did. Internet coverage of the election and subsequent riots has been unprecedented and pervasive. Along with mainstream media news posts, we’ve seen comprehensive LiveBlogging from the Huffington Post as well as many videos of the rioting posted on YouTube (which were subsequently taken down for violation of Terms of Service).

In true internet syle, some users have started re-posting these vidoes on LiveLeak.

Arguably though, user interest has been peaking on Twitter, with swells of support for Moussavi and and Iranian Tweeters. Hundreds of non-Iranians have subsequently taken on the cause, calling for supporters of freedom in Iran to wear green (#weargreen).

One particular micro-blogger, Iranian student and pro-Moussavi protester has captured the Twitterverse’s short attention span with his frequent updates of the drama in Tehran. Known only as change_for_iran, the young male Tweeter has provided insights virtually impossible to achieve in other ways. Here are a few posts from this morning:

@change_for_iran it’s near 6am! come on amirabad people! wake up #iranelection

@change_for_iran 5:17am people outside are burning Saderat bank building or as it seems from this far #iranelection

@change_for_iran typing as fastest as I can in both English & Farsi, Still we need outside help, I really don’t want to be captured by Ansar #iranelection

@change_for_iran to other sources: this isn’t the police! police is still outside! we’re under attack by Ansar-Hezbolah. #iranelection

@change_for_iran 4:09am from dormitory building of university of Tehran, we will wait for day light and hoping people of amirabad help us out #iranelection

@change_for_iran my friend saying more than 100 students arrested, I can’t confirm this but the numbers are high #iranelection

@change_for_iran is particularly significant in the context of reports from BBC and ABC News (US) correspondents in Tehran that suggest police are giving foreign media a pretty rough time  — snatching cameras, footage and arresting at least one camera operator.

This is on top of reports by the BBC that its satellite signal to Iran, the Middle East and Europe is being jammed by a Farsi service inside Iran, in a bid to quash outside reportage. “It seems to be part of a pattern of behaviour by the Iranian authorities to limit the reporting of the aftermath of the disputed election,” said Peter Horrocks, the director of BBC World Service in London.

Blogging has been a huge part of Iran’s anti-Ahmadinejad force. Though operating under special circumstances because the government restricts certain views, blogs in general tend to be unregulated compared to other forms of expression in Iranian society and have been widely taken up by students and young people.

Check out  our Iran tweet feed.