Public Diplomacy 2.0: An Exploratory Case Study of the US Digital Outreach Team

Khatib, L., Dutton, W.H., and Thelwall, M. 'Public Diplomacy 2.0: An Exploratory Case Study of the US Digital Outreach Team', The Middle East Journal, 2012

20 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2011 Last revised: 3 Dec 2015

See all articles by Lina Khatib

Lina Khatib

Stanford University

William H. Dutton

GCSCC Computer Science University of Oxford

Michael Thelwall

University of Wolverhampton

Date Written: January 4, 2011

Abstract

The Internet has stimulated innovation in American public diplomacy methods towards the Middle East, from one-way communication through broadcasting and the print media to a more interactive model in which the government joins the conversation. This paper assesses the potential of this new model through an analysis of an early US government Web 2.0 public diplomacy initiative, the State Department’s Digital Outreach Team (DOT), focusing on an embedded case study, that of Arabic Internet discussions of Barack Obama’s Cairo speech of 4 June 2009, in which the DOT participated.

Suggested Citation

Khatib, Lina and Dutton, William H. and Thelwall, Michael, Public Diplomacy 2.0: An Exploratory Case Study of the US Digital Outreach Team (January 4, 2011). Khatib, L., Dutton, W.H., and Thelwall, M. 'Public Diplomacy 2.0: An Exploratory Case Study of the US Digital Outreach Team', The Middle East Journal, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1734850

Lina Khatib

Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

William H. Dutton (Contact Author)

GCSCC Computer Science University of Oxford ( email )

Department of Computer Science
Robert Hooke Bldg 010
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PR
United Kingdom

Michael Thelwall

University of Wolverhampton ( email )

Wulfruna Street
Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1SB
United States

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