Twitter Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Move over, Al Gore.

Say all you want about the daily distraction, frivolity and possible world domination of Twitter, people, but the truth is that without it, we wouldn’t have had any news of the violent civil conflict within Iran. And according to former U.S. deputy national security advisor Mark Pfeifle, the social networking site should receive a Nobel Peace Prize for allowing this to happen.

Pfeifle says that he knows when he first said this on national television, people laughed—which, he concedes, is understandable. However, he insists we take a deeper look at Twitter. “It has empowered people to attempt to resolve a domestic showdown with international implications—and has enabled the world to stand with them. It laid the foundation to pressure the world to denounce oppression in Iran.”

Well, when you put it that way—why the hell aren’t we using Twitter to get a hold on North Korea?

Pfeifle insists that the site was crucial in providing the world with information on Iran’s internal crisis following their tumultuous election this summer. More than 220,000 tweets regarding the situation were even posted hourly at one point.  

Since journalists were forced to leave the country, no press coverage could be offered to the outside world, and the rest of the global community could only look on blindly—until they discovered that Twitter was being used for much more than a workplace time-waster and an egocentric mini-diary.

It was also a place for the world to bear witness to an entire country’s electoral division and turmoil. And knowing that the world could see into its plight, that they were not alone, the Iranian people, says Pfeifle, “felt empowered and confident to stand up for freedom and democracy… With Twitter, they now shout hope with a passion and dedication that resonates not just with those on their street, but with millions across the globe.”

The conflict continues to be a subject of thousands of tweets a day, and though I wouldn’t go as far as to say the network deserves a Nobel Peace Prize—after all, shouldn’t some kind of intention be present for that?—I would have to say that Twitter has turned out to be much more significant than I’d originally thought.

What do you think? Should Twitter be officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize? Or is the very idea of it the silliest thing you’ve ever heard?