YouTube Documents Iranian Protests Via Smuggled Footage [VIDEO]

Credit:

YouTube is reporting on its blog today that videos of pro-reformers flooding the streets of Iran and battling anti-riot police forces are being uploaded to the web. Even though YouTube is blocked in Iran, "dissidents are passing videos to friends out of the country and using Internet circumvention technologies to post the footage," according to the blog post.

This is not the first time that YouTube has been used as a portal for such news -- back in June, the social media world was inundated with buzz about Iran after the elections, and videos of the protests that followed were all over YouTube.

In the days leading up to the anniversary, Iran made moves to stifle the protests against June's alleged election fraud -- Iranians were experiencing far-reaching disruption of text and Internet service, according to the Wall Street Journal. And this wasn't the first counter-attack the country took against social media; back in May, Iran also put the kibosh on Facebook in an attempt to stifle President Ahmadinejad’s opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi. Still, despite these roadblocks -- and the more recent Gmail blackout -- the truth managed to out, as it is wont to do.

YouTube is monitoring the videos via CitizenTube, and it's compiling a playlist, which we have embedded below.

The Google LatLong Blog is also offering a view of the Iran streets via the IKONOS satellite.

Warning: Some images may be disturbing.