NATASHA MARSTON - [X]PRESS 2.0 People gather at a vigil in Union Square to mourn those who have died in the aftermath of Iran's recent presidential elections.

"When everything hit the fan, I immediately signed up for a Twitter [account], and started following my Facebook everyday," Zohreh said.

Social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are playing a critical role in dispersing news about Iran's recent presidential election when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner despite popular public support for Mir Hussein Moussavi. The sites are providing news, helping families stay in touch, and even helping to organize protests around the Bay Area, like the June 25 Union Square remembrance vigil.

"We know that Iranian youth are well-educated, tech-savvy and politically-opinionated. This is a powerful mix of social factors coming together at a moment when social media have emerged as the breaking news channel of choice," said veteran journalist and media blogger David Weir.

Vigil participant Mana Mostatabi agrees. "I have been tweeting like crazy, pushing as much information as I can," she said. Recognizing the important role Twitter is playing in Iran, the U.S. State Department asked the company to delay maintenance scheduled for June 15. The company complied.

Mostatabi keeps in touch with Persian tweeters, translating and making sure news is being spread. Because the Iranian government is monitoring social media, sharing accurate information is difficult. "You can't post names or the government will track you down," Mostatabi says.

Other vigil participants said that networking sites have been blocked, and cell phones tapped and monitored. Zohreh says her family in Iran "will say nothing over phone." Because of Iran's removal of foreign journalists, reporters have to depend on footage of Iranian protesters with various recording mediums to stay informed. "Most of the tweets inside Iran appear to be one-way broadcasts by people desperate to get their news out to the world -- even if they themselves cannot see it," said Weir.

Despite consequences Iranians may endure if caught with a recording device, many still share footage. Iranian youth worldwide are doing their part to get the videos out in the open. "The violence reported on the news here is so minimal compared to what's actually happening from what we're [hearing] back home. It's sad because the real news can't be, quote, 'confirmed,'" says Zohreh.

In addition to sharing news and organizing protests, social networking sites are sending messages of support to Iran. In the days following the election, Twitter users started coloring their avatars green in solidarity with the pro-Moussavi movement. That same idea has driven recent protests.

"It doesn't matter if they see one second or 10 minutes of this protest," says Mostatabi. "If they know that people around the world are sitting in vigil and mourning for what they're doing, then at the very least they'll know they have support; they have someone behind their back."