Let's design social media that drives real change | Wael Ghonim

譯者: Allen Kuo 審譯者: Ann Chen

I once said,

我曾經說過，

"If you want to liberate a society,

「如果你想解放一個社會，

all you need is the Internet."

你所需要的只是網絡。」

I was wrong.

我錯了。

I said those words back in 2011,

這句話是我在 2011 年時說的，

when a Facebook page I anonymously created

當時我匿名建立了 一個 Facebook 主頁，

helped spark the Egyptian revolution.

它協助觸發埃及革命。

The Arab Spring revealed social media's greatest potential,

「阿拉伯之春」展現了 社群媒體的巨大潛力，

but it also exposed its greatest shortcomings.

但也同時暴露出它的最大缺陷。

The same tool that united us to topple dictators

團結凝聚我們推倒獨裁者的工具

eventually tore us apart.

最終也將我們分裂。

I would like to share my own experience in using social media for activism,

我想分享一下我自己用社群媒體 來積極推動變革的經驗，

and talk about some of the challenges I have personally faced

並討論一些我個人遇過的難題

and what we could do about them.

以及我們可以怎麼克服它們。

In the early 2000s,

在 2000 年代初期，

Arabs were flooding the web.

許多阿拉伯人湧入網路世界，

Thirsty for knowledge, for opportunities,

渴望得到知識和機會，

for connecting with the rest of the people around the globe,

與世界各地的人建立連結，

we escaped our frustrating political realities

我們逃離令人沮喪的政治現況，

and lived a virtual, alternative life.

過著一個被虛擬世界所取代的生活。

Just like many of them, I was completely apolitical until 2009.

和其中許多人一樣，我完全 不關心政治，直到 2009 年。

At the time, when I logged into social media,

那個時候，當我登入社群媒體，

I started seeing more and more Egyptians

開始看見越來越多的埃及人

aspiring for political change in the country.

渴望國家的政治改變。

It felt like I was not alone.

這讓我感到自己並不孤單。

In June 2010,

2010 年 6 月，

Internet changed my life forever.

網路從此改變了我的人生。

While browsing Facebook,

在瀏覽 Facebook 時，

I saw a photo, a terrifying photo, of a tortured, dead body

我看到了一張十分可怕的照片， 是一具被虐待致死的屍體，

of a young Egyptian guy.

一位埃及年輕男子的屍體。

His name was Khaled Said.

他的名字叫做哈立德‧薩伊德。

Khaled was a 29-year-old Alexandrian who was killed by police.

哈立德是個住在亞歷山大城的 29 歲青年，他被警察殺害。

I saw myself in his picture.

在他的照片裡我看到了自己。

I thought, "I could be Khaled."

我想：「我也可能是下一個哈立德。」

I could not sleep that night, and I decided to do something.

當晚我徹夜難眠， 決定不再袖手旁觀。

I anonymously created a Facebook page

我匿名建立了一個 Facebook 主頁，

and called it "We are all Khaled Said."

叫做「我們都是哈立德‧薩伊德」 (We are all Khaled Said)

In just three days, the page had over 100,000 people,

僅僅三天時間， 累積超過 10 萬個粉絲，

fellow Egyptians who shared the same concern.

都是和我有一樣擔憂的埃及人。

Whatever was happening had to stop.

無論是發生什麼事，它都必須被制止。

I recruited my co-admin, AbdelRahman Mansour.

我聘用了我的共同管理人， 艾戴爾‧拉曼‧曼索。

We worked together for hours and hours.

我們花了許多時間一起工作。

We were crowdsourcing ideas from the people.

我們從許多人身上集思廣益，

We were engaging them.

讓他們一起參與。

We were calling collectively for actions,

我們號召群眾一起行動，

and sharing news that the regime did not want Egyptians to know.

分享當局不希望埃及人知道的新聞。

The page became the most followed page

這個主頁成為阿拉伯世界裡 最多人追蹤的主頁，

in the Arab world.

It had more fans than established media organizations

擁有比出版媒體、

and even top celebrities.

甚至當紅明星更多的粉絲。

On January 14, 2011,

2011 年 1 月 14 日，

Ben Ali fled out of Tunisia

班‧阿里在日漸增多的人民 發起對政府的抗議後逃出突尼西亞。

after mounting protests against his regime.

I saw a spark of hope.

我看到了一絲希望的火花。

Egyptians on social media were wondering,

社群媒體上的埃及人心想，

"If Tunisia did it, why can't we?"

「如果突尼西亞可以， 我們為何不行？」

I posted an event on Facebook and called it

我在 Facebook 上發佈了一個名為

"A Revolution against Corruption, Injustice and Dictatorship."

「反貪腐、不公、獨裁革命」

I posed a question to the 300,000 users of the page at the time:

在當時擁有 30 萬粉絲的主頁上， 我丟出一個問題：

"Today is the 14th of January.

「今天是 1 月 14 日。

The 25th of January is Police Day.

1 月 25 日就是警察日了。

It's a national holiday.

這是個全國的節日。

If 100,000 of us take to the streets of Cairo,

如果我們有 10 萬人走上開羅街頭，

no one is going to stop us.

沒有人能阻止我們。

I wonder if we could do it."

我想知道我們能不能辦到。」

In just a few days, the invitation reached over a million people,

短短幾天內，這則邀請 被轉到超過 100 萬人手中，

and over 100,000 people confirmed attendance.

且超過 10 萬人回覆確定參加。

Social media was crucial for this campaign.

社群媒體在這次活動中起了關鍵作用，

It helped a decentralized movement arise.

幫助一個分散式社會活動的崛起。

It made people realize that they were not alone.

它讓大家覺得自己不是孤軍奮戰，

And it made it impossible for the regime to stop it.

也讓當局無法制止這一切。

At the time, they didn't even understand it.

在那時，當局甚至無法理解。

And on January 25th, Egyptians flooded the streets of Cairo and other cities,

然後 1 月 25 日，埃及人民 湧入開羅和其他城市的街道，

calling for change,

要求改革，

breaking the barrier of fear

突破恐懼的藩籬，

and announcing a new era.

宣告新時代的來臨。

Then came the consequences.

接著後果來了。

A few hours before the regime cut off the Internet and telecommunications,

在當局切斷網路 和電信通訊的幾個小時前，

I was walking in a dark street in Cairo, around midnight.

我於午夜時分走在 開羅一個陰暗的街道上，

I had just tweeted, "Pray for Egypt.

當時我剛在推特上 發了一篇：「為埃及祈福。

The government must be planning a massacre tomorrow."

政府肯定在策劃 明天展開一波大屠殺。」

I was hit hard on my head.

我的頭突然遭到重擊。

I lost my balance and fell down,

我失去平衡並倒下，

to find four armed men surrounding me.

然後發現有四個 全副武裝的人圍繞著我，

One covered my mouth and the others paralyzed me.

一個摀住我的嘴巴， 其他人則讓我動彈不得。

I knew I was being kidnapped by state security.

我知道我被國家安全局綁架了。

I found myself in a cell,

我發現自己被關在一個牢房裡，

handcuffed, blindfolded.

被銬上手銬、蒙上眼罩。

I was terrified.

我非常害怕。

So was my family,

我的家人也是，

who started looking for me

他們開始四處找尋我，

in hospitals, police stations and even morgues.

在醫院、警察局、甚至停屍間。

After my disappearance,

在我失蹤後，

a few of my fellow colleagues who knew I was the admin of the page

知道我是那個主頁管理人的幾個同事

told the media about my connection with that page,

告訴媒體我和那個主頁的關係，

and that I was likely arrested by state security.

還有我可能被國家安全局拘捕的事情。

My colleagues at Google started a search campaign trying to find me,

我在 Google 的同事發起 一個尋人活動，試圖找到我，

and the fellow protesters in the square demanded my release.

在廣場的示威群眾也要求釋放我。

After 11 days of complete darkness,

經歷 11 天完全的黑暗後，

I was set free.

我重獲自由。

And three days later,

而在三天後，

Mubarak was forced to step down.

穆巴拉克被迫下台。

It was the most inspiring and empowering moment of my life.

這是我人生中最鼓舞、 最令我覺得充滿力量的時刻。

It was a time of great hope.

充滿希望的時刻。

Egyptians lived a utopia for 18 days during the revolution.

革命期間，埃及人民 彷彿在烏托邦住了 18 天。

They all shared the belief

他們都有同樣的信念，

that we could actually live together despite our differences,

相信我們真能排除彼此 的不同，生活在一起，

that Egypt after Mubarak would be for all.

相信穆巴拉克之後的埃及 會是個屬於全民的國度。

But unfortunately,

但很不幸地，

the post-revolution events were like a punch in the gut.

革命後的事件如同 在我們胸口捶了一記重槌，

The euphoria faded,

歡欣鼓舞逐漸退散，

we failed to build consensus,

我們未能成功建立共識，

and the political struggle led to intense polarization.

政治鬥爭演變成極端的對立。

Social media only amplified that state,

社群媒體純粹擴大了這個現象，

by facilitating the spread of misinformation, rumors,

它加速傳播錯誤訊息、謠言、

echo chambers and hate speech.

助長迴聲室效應和仇恨言論。

The environment was purely toxic.

整個環境變得非常有害。

My online world became a battleground filled with trolls, lies, hate speech.

我的網路世界變成充滿惡毒挑釁、 謊言和仇恨言論的戰場。

I started to worry about the safety of my family.

我開始擔心家人的安危。

But of course, this wasn't just about me.

但當然，這些不只和我有關。

The polarization reached its peak between the two main powers --

兩個主要團體之間的對立達到最高峰－

the army supporters and the Islamists.

軍隊支持者和伊斯蘭教徒。

People in the center, like me,

夾在中間的人，例如我，

started feeling helpless.

開始感到無助。

Both groups wanted you to side with them;

雙方都希望你和他們站在一起；

you were either with them or against them.

你不是同伴就是敵人。

And on the 3rd of July 2013,

而在 2013 年 7 月 3 日，

the army ousted Egypt's first democratically elected president,

軍方罷黜了埃及第一任民選總統，

after three days of popular protest that demanded his resignation.

就在三天的群眾抗議， 要求他下台之後。

That day I made a very hard decision.

那天我做了一個非常困難的決定。

I decided to go silent, completely silent.

我決定沉默，完全地沉默。

It was a moment of defeat.

那是個挫敗的時刻。

I stayed silent for more than two years,

我保持沉默超過兩年，

and I used the time to reflect on everything that happened,

並在這段期間反思每一件發生的事，

trying to understand why did it happen.

試著瞭解它們為何會發生。

It became clear to me

我開始清楚，

that while it's true that polarization is primarily driven

對立一開始確實是 經由人類行為所驅使，

by our human behavior,

social media shapes this behavior and magnifies its impact.

但社群媒體形塑整個發展演變， 並且擴大其影響力。

Say you want to say something that is not based on a fact,

例如你想說一些不實的言論，

pick a fight or ignore someone that you don't like.

挑釁或忽略你不喜歡的人。

These are all natural human impulses,

這些衝動都是人類的天性，

but because of technology,

但由於科技，

acting on these impulses is only one click away.

將這些衝動轉為行動只需一個按鍵。

In my view, there are five critical challenges

在我看來，面對今天的社群媒體，

facing today's social media.

我們有五個關鍵挑戰。

First, we don't know how to deal with rumors.

第一，我們不知道如何處理謠言。

Rumors that confirm people's biases

許多展現個人偏見的謠言

are now believed and spread among millions of people.

被廣為採信並傳播給上百萬人。

Second, we create our own echo chambers.

第二，我們打造了自己的回音場。

We tend to only communicate with people that we agree with,

我們傾向只和自己認同的人溝通，

and thanks to social media,

而真感謝社群媒體，

we can mute, un-follow and block everybody else.

我們可以關閉通知、取消追蹤 並拒絕和其他人來往。

Third, online discussions quickly descend into angry mobs.

第三，線上討論很快 就演變成憤怒的暴民。

All of us probably know that.

可能所有人都知道這點。

It's as if we forget

這就好像我們忘了

that the people behind screens are actually real people

在螢幕背後的是活生生的人，

and not just avatars.

而不是阿凡達。

And fourth, it became really hard to change our opinions.

第四，改變意見變得非常困難。

Because of the speed and brevity of social media,

因為社群媒體的傳播速度和言簡意賅，

we are forced to jump to conclusions

我們被迫驟下結論，

and write sharp opinions in 140 characters

並用 140 字的篇幅寫下犀利的觀點， (註：Twitter的字數限制為 140 字)

about complex world affairs.

談論複雜的世界大事。

And once we do that, it lives forever on the Internet,

一旦這麼做， 這些言論就永久被留在網路上，

and we are less motivated to change these views,

而我們也沒什麼動力去改變這些觀點，

even when new evidence arises.

即使有新的證據出現。

Fifth -- and in my point of view, this is the most critical --

第五 － 在我看來是最關鍵的一點 －

today, our social media experiences are designed in a way

我們如今社群媒體的使用模式，

被設計成利於 快速傳播而非實際投入，

that favors broadcasting over engagements,

posts over discussions,

單方面貼文而非互相討論，

shallow comments over deep conversations.

淺薄的評論而非深入的對話。

It's as if we agreed that we are here to talk at each other

這就好像我們都同意 在此我們只需向對方放話，

instead of talking with each other.

而不是真正彼此交談。

I witnessed how these critical challenges contributed

我目睹這些關鍵的難題

to an already polarized Egyptian society,

是如何讓已經對立的埃及社會雪上加霜，

but this is not just about Egypt.

但這也不只和埃及有關。

Polarization is on the rise in the whole world.

兩極化的對立在世界各地都在增加。

We need to work hard on figuring out

我們得努力想出辦法，

how technology could be part of the solution,

如何讓科技可以解決問題，

rather than part of the problem.

而不是成為問題的一部份。

There's a lot of debate today on how to combat online harassment

如今已有許多人爭論著 如何對抗線上騷擾，

and fight trolls.

並打擊惡毒挑釁的言論。

This is so important.

這非常重要，

No one could argue against that.

沒有人能反對。

But we need to also think about how to design social media experiences

但我們也得想想， 如何設計社群媒體的模式，

that promote civility and reward thoughtfulness.

讓它可以促進禮節、獎勵深思熟慮。

I know for a fact

我很清楚地知道

if I write a post that is more sensational,

當我貼出一則更加聳動、

more one-sided, sometimes angry and aggressive,

更加偏向一邊、有時甚至 憤怒具攻擊性的文章時，

I get to have more people see that post.

會有更多人看到這則貼文。

I will get more attention.

我將會吸引更多注意。

But what if we put more focus on quality?

但如果我們更加注重品質呢？

What is more important:

以下哪個比較重要：

the total number of readers of a post you write,

是看到你寫的東西的總人數，

or who are the people who have impact that read what you write?

還是哪些具有影響力的人 在讀你寫的東西？

Couldn't we just give people more incentives to engage in conversations,

我們難道不能 讓大家有更多誘因投入對話，

rather than just broadcasting opinions all the time?

而不是一直宣傳自己的觀點嗎？

Or reward people for reading

或是獎勵大家閱讀

and responding to views that they disagree with?

並回應與自己相左的觀點？

And also, make it socially acceptable that we change our minds,

並且，讓「改變想法」 變成可被社會接納，

or probably even reward that?

甚至可能獲得獎勵？

What if we have a matrix that says how many people changed their minds,

如果我們有個計算方程式，告訴我們 有多人少改變了他們的想法，

and that becomes part of our social media experience?

讓這成為社群媒體使用模式 的一部分呢？

If I could track how many people are changing their minds,

如果我能追蹤有多少人正在改變想法，

I'd probably write more thoughtfully, trying to do that,

我在發文時可能會更深思熟慮，

rather than appealing to the people who already agree with me

而不只是吸引已經同意我的觀點的人，

and "liking" because I just confirmed their biases.

並因為我確認了 他們的偏見而被按「讚」。

We also need to think about effective crowdsourcing mechanisms,

我們也得想想有效集思廣益的機制，

to fact-check widely spread online information,

針對廣為流傳的線上訊息進行查實，

and reward people who take part in that.

並獎勵願意這麼做的人。

In essence, we need to rethink today's social media ecosystem

在本質上，我們得重新思考 今天的社群媒體生態，

and redesign its experiences

並重新設計它的使用模式，

to reward thoughtfulness, civility and mutual understanding.

來獎勵深思熟慮、 守禮自持與彼此瞭解。

As a believer in the Internet, I teamed up with a few friends,

做為一個網路的信徒， 我和幾個朋友組成團隊，

started a new project,

開始一個新的計劃，

trying to find answers and explore possibilities.

試著找出解答並探索更多可能性。

Our first product is a new media platform for conversations.

我們的第一個產品是一種 談話式的新社群平台。

We're hosting conversations that promote mutual understanding

我們主持一些有助彼此瞭解的對話，

and hopefully change minds.

希望能改變大家的想法。

We don't claim to have the answers,

我們並不求有所解答，

but we started experimenting with different discussions

但我們開始試驗一些不同的討論，

about very divisive issues,

針對一些非常爭議的議題，

such as race, gun control, the refugee debate,

例如種族、槍枝管制、 有關難民的爭論、

relationship between Islam and terrorism.

還有伊斯蘭與恐怖主義之間的關係。

These are conversations that matter.

這些都是重要的對談。

Today, at least one out of three people on the planet

如今地球上至少有三分之一的人

have access to the Internet.

能夠存取網路。

But part of this Internet is being held captive

但網路的一部分

已經被人類行為中 不是那麼高尚的部分給俘虜了。

by the less noble aspects of our human behavior.

Five years ago, I said,

五年前，我曾說：

"If you want to liberate society,

「如果你要想解放一個社會，

all you need is the Internet."

你所需要的只是網路。」

Today, I believe if we want to liberate society,

今天，我相信如果我們想要解放社會，

we first need to liberate the Internet.

我們必須先解放網路。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝各位。

(Applause)

(掌聲)