Disillusionment with over-dramatised, misinformed and repetitive coverage of the war in Iraq has led millions of people to turn to the Web for news.
Whether they're for or against the conflict, Internet users have been engaging in passionate debate and reflection, desperately trying to dig below the surface of events to find out what really is going on.
During the first fortnight of the war, the Internet had brought us the anxious words of Baghdad citizen Salam Pax's blog, comments from the war zone by solider L.T. Smash, streaming Iraqi satellite TV, conspiracy theories, anti-war websites, hard-right warblogs, and CNN's military multimedia. Meanwhile, relatives of coalition troops have been able to receive email from the soldiers in the field.
'Cyber activists' from both sides have defaced and brought down websites such as the Arabic news site Al Jazeera.
Following its bandwidth problems during the 11 September attacks, the BBC was well prepared for a deluge of visitors this time. When war broke out on 20 March, traffic doubled as 5 million unique visitors flocked to the BBC News site.
More than a third of those visitors live overseas -- a growing trend, said Mike Smartt, editor-in-chief for BEG News Online. "We get quite a lot of feedback--especially from the States -- that says there's a more rounded, impartial view from the BBC," he said. "We get quite a lot of people saying that the US media, especially on the Web, is too US-centric, and they get a better view from us." But, like most mainstream news sites, the BBC has made some gaffes -- such as reporting that Umm Qasr had fallen when it hadn't.
The instantaneous way in which news can be posted and distributed via the Web is both beneficial and hazardous -- and that's something the BBC is acutely aware of.
"We don't publish rumours," Smartt said. "We make sure anything we publish comes from a reliable source and is backed up."
But accurate reporting can be hard when most journalists are 'embedded' with the military.
"We are objective," insisted Smartt. "It's difficult to find out what's happening in those places being attacked-it's almost impossible. You can report what the Iraqis are saying. but then you report that in the context of realising that there's a great deal of propaganda going on."
Net users have also turned to sites like Oneworld TV (http://tv.oneworld.net), which allows reports to be uploaded into a video-based 'tapestry'. It features mini documentaries on the war, reflecting the diversity of contributors' opinions.
Oneworld multimedia producer Jo Hill said she found mainstream coverage in the US "shocking".
"I think Oneworld TV is unique in presenting the voices of ordinary, articulate Iraqi people, challenging stereotypes and revealing an important perspective that is missing in the mainstream media," she added.
Meanwhile, supporters from both sides have been reading weblogs from embedded journalists in Iraq at www.cyberjournalist.net/features/iraqcoverage.html, pro-war blogs at www.blogsofwar.com, and independent coverage at www.mediachannel.org. There's also the Iraqi civilian body count at www.iraqbodycount.net.
With questions being asked about the accuracy of reporting in traditional media, the war in Iraq has shown that the Web has the edge when it comes to providing access to uncensored information and a diverse set of viewpoints.