A major international online effort is emerging to aid those protesting about Iran’s presidential elections.
The campaign has enlisted activists and IT experts in an effort to help users in Iran safely and confidentially post information about the recent protests over the country’s disputed election.
One of the groups taking part is Anonymous, an online activist group best known for its clashes with the Church of Scientology. The organisation is providing a forum to “serve as an avenue of communication between Iranians, their families abroad and other interested parties from across the Internet”.
The forum, which is also backed by the Pirate Bay and links users to proxy servers to avoid detection, allows users to post photos and information on protests, and provides a missing persons database.
Other efforts to avoid state censorship are being led by individuals around the globe. In San Francisco, a man named Austin Heap is leading an effort to keep Iranians safely posting information about the protests.
An IT director by trade, Heap has been co-ordinating an effort through his blog to help users set up and maintain proxy servers to allow access to systems within Iran.
The effort is part of what has become an unprecedented online campaign in support of the protestors. Shortly after the demonstrations began, users took to blogs and Twitter in an effort to relay information from within the country and coordinate efforts against the standing government regime.
Over the weekend, violent clashes between police and protestors lead to 10 deaths and injured 150. Rolling comments on Twitter alerted the public to the presence of Basij militia in hospitals. A Google Maps mash-up was posted online showing the location of safe areas and foreign embassies who were taking in wounded.
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