Neda: YouTube Video Too Distressing to Ignore

Yesterday we published 10 Powerful YouTube Videos from Iran, including a particularly graphic video of an Iranian girl dying on the street – we now know her name, Neda. The deeply distressing video is becoming a defining moment in Iran’s disputed elections, in both social media and mainstream publications.

The video has now been picked up by TIME.com, USAToday’s On Deadline blog and Sky News. An LATimes blog, meanwhile, claims it is “becoming a rallying symbol for opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” In all, Google News counts 26 news articles mentioning Neda at the time of writing. Thousands of blogs have commented on the clip.

Among the myriad Tweets and Facebook messages, could it be that a YouTube video becomes the galvanizing moment in Iran’s troubled election? And as some outlets declare this the “Twitter revolution“, did they overlook the power of online video to shape world events?

Neda Clip from YouTube [Warning: Distressing Content]

Warning: this video is extremely graphic and troubling. Viewer discretion is strongly advised – if you’re at all uncomfortable with violent scenes, you should not view it. Please also view the description below, and be aware that the clip is absolutely unsuitable for minors.

We remind you that we include this clip because we believe in free access to information, however unpleasant: your decision to view it is entirely your own.

The 40-second YouTube video carries with it an equally disturbing description:

At 19:05 June 20th
Place: Karekar Ave., at the corner crossing Khosravi St. and Salehi st.

A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim’s chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes.
The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St.