Editing Text messaging (section)

=== Social unrest ===
Texting has been used on a number of occasions with the result of the gathering of large aggressive crowds. SMS messaging drew a crowd to [[Cronulla Beach]] in Sydney resulting in the [[2005 Cronulla riots]]. Not only were text messages circulating in the Sydney area but in other states as well (''Daily Telegraph''). The volume of such text messages and e-mails also increased in the wake of the riot.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goggin |first1=Gerard |title=SMS Riot: Transmitting Race on a Sydney Beach, December 2005: The Politics of Transmission |journal=M/C Journal |date=2006 |volume=9 |issue=1 |doi=10.5204/mcj.2582|doi-access=free}}</ref> The crowd of 5,000 at stages became violent, attacking certain ethnic groups. Sutherland Shire Mayor directly blamed heavily circulated SMS messages for the unrest.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/text-messages-fuel-trouble-20051212-gdmm5w.html|title=Text messages 'fuel trouble'|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=11 December 2005}}</ref> NSW police considered whether people could be charged over the texting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-12-09/police-consider-sms-cronulla-messages-a-crime/758070|title=Police consider SMS Cronulla messages 'a crime'|website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=9 December 2005}}</ref> Retaliatory attacks also used SMS.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Les|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/man-in-court-over-cronulla-revenge-sms-20061207-gdozp5.html|title=Man in court over Cronulla revenge SMS|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=6 December 2006}}</ref>

The Narre Warren Incident, when a group of 500 party goers attended a party at Narre Warren in Melbourne, Australia, and rioted in January 2008, also was a response of communication being spread by SMS and Myspace.<ref>{{cite news|first=Daniella|last=Miletic|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/police-probe-how-500-teens-got-party-invite-20080114-ge6lrl.html|title=Police probe how 500 teens got a party invite|newspaper=[[The Age]]|date=13 January 2008|access-date=8 March 2020}}</ref> Following the incident, the Police Commissioner wrote an open letter asking young people to be aware of the power of SMS and the Internet.<ref>{{cite news|first=Christine|last=Nixon|date=15 January 2008|url=https://www.news.com.au/opinion/even-good-kids-need-to-have-limits/news-story/1d29cb9ea343974cefff649a96fc5d5b|title=We were all young once, but teens need limits|website=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=5 April 2012}}</ref> In Hong Kong, government officials find that text messaging helps socially because they can send multiple texts to the community. Officials say it is an easy way of contacting the community or individuals for meetings or events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~fanis/csc104/student-presentations/mobile.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217003118/http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~fanis/csc104/student-presentations/mobile.html |archive-date=17 February 2008 |url-status=dead |title=The Social Impacts of Mobile Phones and Text Messaging |publisher=Dgp.toronto.edu |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> Texting was used to coordinate gatherings during the [[2009 Iranian election protests]].

Between 2009 and 2012 the U.S. secretly created and funded a [[Twitter]]-like service for Cubans called [[ZunZuneo]], initially based on mobile phone text message service and later with an internet interface. The service was funded by the [[U.S. Agency for International Development]] through its [[Office of Transition Initiatives]], who utilized contractors and front companies in the Cayman Islands, Spain and Ireland. A longer-term objective was to organize "smart mobs" that might "renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society." A database about the subscribers was created, including gender, age, and "political tendencies". At its peak ZunZuneo had 40,000 Cuban users, but the service closed as financially unsustainable when U.S. funding was stopped.<ref name=wp-20140403>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-secretly-created-cuban-twitter-to-stir-unrest/2014/04/03/8a2dc77c-bafa-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403230104/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-secretly-created-cuban-twitter-to-stir-unrest/2014/04/03/8a2dc77c-bafa-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 April 2014 |title=U'S' secretly created 'Cuban Twitter' to stir unrest |author1=Arce, Alberto |author2=Butler, Desmond  |author3=Gillum, Jack |newspaper=Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |date=3 April 2014 |access-date=6 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=forbes-20140404>{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/04/03/why-the-u-s-governments-fake-cuban-twitter-service-failed/ |title=Why The U'S' Government's Fake 'Cuban Twitter' Service Failed |author=Olson, Parmy |newspaper=Forbes |date=4 April 2014 |access-date=6 April 2014}}</ref>