Twitter is a social media platform launched in 2006. It allows users to send short messages called tweets that are visible to their followers. During Iran's disputed 2009 presidential election, Twitter played a key role when protesters used it to share information with the outside world after the Iranian government banned independent media coverage of protests and violence. An Iranian woman living in England, known only as the "Oxford Girl", helped spread protesters' tweets to a wider audience in order to expose what was really happening in Iran. The creators of Twitter were not surprised by how it was used during the revolution, showing how social media platforms can empower people and become tools for political and social change.