Iran Revolutionary Guard frightened by web sites

CNN:

Iran's opposition Wednesday pledged to continue protests over disputed presidential elections as authorities tightened controls on media, threatening Web sites reporting on the country's worst crisis for decades.

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi, who claims last week's re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged, called on his supporters to join him on the streets of Tehran Thursday in the latest in a series of demonstrations.

Meanwhile, the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard -- which enforces strict Islamic codes -- said it will prosecute Web sites it accuses of inciting riots, adding to a ban on foreign media reporting on the protests and a block on Internet site such as Facebook or Twitter.

Even as the Guard made its announcement, thousands of Iranians planned to head to Haft-e-Tir Square in central Tehran on Wednesday evening despite a stepped-up government crackdown that has seen people arrested across the country. Watch Christiane Amanpour on media restrictions »

The scale of the protests, the worst seen in the country since a 1979 revolution overthrew its monarchy, Tuesday prompted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has already endorsed Ahmadinejad's win, to appeal for calm, urging citizens to support the Islamic state.

His appeal came a day after at least seven people were killed during a pro-Moussavi demonstration in Tehran.

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The reason for the fear of media is that they perceive that a general uprising requires coordinated efforts, but much of the word of mouth that is driving this uprising is spontaneous. The online media is just a way of confirming a movement. As the regime scrambles to shut off the flow of information it seeps out elsewhere. Forums at the BBC have become one of those outlets. The same thing is probably happening at CNN where blogs and commentary are linked to the stories about the uprising. There are probably too many blogs outside Iran for them to block all of them. I know I am still getting hits from Iran. If they were to try to block this blog I could add "Banned in Iran" to its many credits.