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Article summary:

1. The Arab uprisings were initially fueled by online calls to join the protests, but soon became weakened by the spread of misinformation on the internet.

2. Pro-regime media and traditional state-owned outlets played a role in spreading fake news, which undermined trust in internet sources.

3. The phenomenon of misinformation online allowed regimes to infiltrate discussions, spread doubt about reported abuses, and sow confusion among activists and protesters.

Article analysis:

The article titled "How the Arab uprisings were weakened by online fakes" discusses how misinformation and fake news spread during the Arab uprisings, undermining the efforts of cyber-activists. While the article provides some insights into the impact of fake news on the protests, it has several potential biases and shortcomings.

One potential bias in the article is its focus on the negative impact of fake news without adequately exploring other factors that may have contributed to the weakening of the Arab uprisings. The article primarily attributes the decline in credibility of cyber-activism to misinformation spread by political powers. However, it fails to consider other factors such as government crackdowns, internal divisions within protest movements, or external interventions that may have also played a role in undermining the uprisings.

The article also presents unsupported claims and lacks evidence for some of its assertions. For example, it states that "fake news fed off people's mistrust" of traditional media outlets without providing any data or research to support this claim. Similarly, it mentions that regimes were able to "infiltrate discussions" online but does not provide specific examples or evidence to substantiate this claim.

Furthermore, the article overlooks counterarguments and alternative perspectives. While it acknowledges that fact-checking services have emerged as a response to fake news, it does not explore whether these efforts have been effective or discuss any potential limitations or challenges associated with fact-checking.

The article also contains promotional content for certain individuals and their blogs. It highlights Lina Ben Mhenni's blog "A Tunisian Girl" as an example of cyber-activism during the Arab uprisings without critically examining its impact or considering other influential blogs or platforms.

Additionally, there is a lack of balance in presenting both sides of the issue. The article primarily focuses on how fake news weakened the Arab uprisings but does not sufficiently explore any positive aspects or benefits that may have resulted from online activism during that time.

Overall, the article provides a limited and one-sided analysis of the impact of fake news on the Arab uprisings. It lacks evidence for some of its claims, overlooks alternative perspectives, and contains promotional content. A more comprehensive and balanced analysis would have considered a wider range of factors and provided a more nuanced understanding of the role of fake news in the uprisings.