On April 14, Reddit user nadiahamilton posted this on the subreddit community r/SyrianCivilWar and posted “4:02 am Syrian time, Damascus, I’m hearing some seriously loud sounds and strong blasts. Is it happening already?” Not too long after, she would update the post saying, “EDIT: someone in Barzeh just confirmed that they are attacking the area.”
The post blew up and responses went wild. Another user by the name syrus5 commented on nadiahamilton’s post. He added on that his family had also been awoken by the sounds of airstrikes and another user asked if their family had survived the attacks.
R/SyrianCivilWar lived up to its promises in the description of the community. “This subreddit is dedicated to the news, analysis, and discussion on the conflicts in Syria and Iraq along with the regional and global ramifications.” User DONUTof_noFLAVOR quickly put together a collection of press releases and livestreams of the raid.
The U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a retaliation attack in response to a chemical attack, targeting the Barzeh Research Center in Damascus. Redditors began to pour in, posting their own opinions with themes such as American Imperialism or calling for diplomatic solution.
A situation like this proves that Reddit is a far more flexible outlet for discussion. It is the sixth most visited website in the U.S. and is in 19th all across the world. After all, it is nicknamed ‘the Front Page of the Internet’ and doesn’t rely on follower count for popularity. Instead, it uses the system of subreddit communities, upvotes and downvotes. Interaction is based on posting links, images or videos, or making comments on things other users have posted.
To put things in simple terms, r/SyrianCivilWar offers quick access to information, sometimes days in advance, and the chance to confront and discuss different perceptions. Over the course of years, the community has swelled enormously. It has started making original analyses and getting worldwide recognition. The issues may be in Syria but we are the audience.
