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| Twitter translates tweets from leading Egyptians | Twitter translates tweets from leading Egyptians |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Tweets from leading Egyptians are being automatically translated as part of a new Twitter service for non-Arabic speakers. | Tweets from leading Egyptians are being automatically translated as part of a new Twitter service for non-Arabic speakers. |
| As Egypt's military ousted President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday, non-Egyptians were able to read his tweets in their local languages. | As Egypt's military ousted President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday, non-Egyptians were able to read his tweets in their local languages. |
| Other figures being translated included opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei and Arab Spring activist Wael Ghonim. | Other figures being translated included opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei and Arab Spring activist Wael Ghonim. |
| Twitter is using Microsoft Bing translator as an "experiment". | Twitter is using Microsoft Bing translator as an "experiment". |
| President Morsi's last tweet, posted at 21:39 BST on 2 July, was translated as: "Mohammed Morsi confirms its attachment to the constitutional legitimacy and rejected any attempt to break them and call the forces armed pull its ultimatum and rejects any dictates dakhlihaokhargih." | President Morsi's last tweet, posted at 21:39 BST on 2 July, was translated as: "Mohammed Morsi confirms its attachment to the constitutional legitimacy and rejected any attempt to break them and call the forces armed pull its ultimatum and rejects any dictates dakhlihaokhargih." |
| The translation tool is clearly not yet 100% accurate and Twitter has not officially launched the service, but in a statement to digital news site AllThingsD it said: "As part of our experiment with tweet text translation, we've enabled translation for some of the most-followed accounts in Egypt, so people around the world can better understand and keep up with what's happening there." | The translation tool is clearly not yet 100% accurate and Twitter has not officially launched the service, but in a statement to digital news site AllThingsD it said: "As part of our experiment with tweet text translation, we've enabled translation for some of the most-followed accounts in Egypt, so people around the world can better understand and keep up with what's happening there." |
| Twitter has provided a list of all the Egyptian accounts it is translating, called egypt2013, which has 63 members. | |
| The list includes Wael Ghonim, who has more than 1.1 million followers, and Tahrir News, which has more than 900,000 followers. | The list includes Wael Ghonim, who has more than 1.1 million followers, and Tahrir News, which has more than 900,000 followers. |
| 'Independent storytellers' | |
| Twitter began its experimental translation service this month, covering European languages such as Italian, French and Spanish, before extending it to Arabic on Wednesday. | |
| Social media site Facebook also offers a translate feature for its foreign-language posts. | Social media site Facebook also offers a translate feature for its foreign-language posts. |
| "I think it opens a lot of chances for independent storytellers and bloggers to make their voice reach a wider audience," Federico Guerrini, a journalist fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, told the BBC. | |
| "In the future, activists and bloggers from foreign countries could bypass the filter of Western 'curators' and tell the world live what is happening. | |
| "Journalists will also have easier access to a number of sources previously unavailable," he added. | |
| While Twitter is undoubtedly growing in popularity as an unfiltered news source, research by the University of Edinburgh suggests news wires are still faster than Twitter for breaking news. | |
| Dr Miles Osborne, from the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics, said: "Twitter and traditional news outlets each have their strengths in terms of delivering news. | |
| "However, Twitter can bring added value by spreading the word on events that we might not otherwise hear about, and for bringing local perspectives on major news items." |