Facebook Users Hook Up—With Fellow Burmese Monk Backers

Mammoth networking site Facebook is triggering a massive mobilization of protesters around the world who will hit the streets this weekend in support of the Burmese monks, Wired writes. Nearly 300,000 people have joined the Facebook group "Support the Monks' Protest" since a story on the movement broke last week,  and thousands of those are expected to turn out for marches tomorrow in cities from Taipei to Vienna.

The movement—which some term "open-source politics"—highlights the evolution of the site, which has increasingly become a tool for activists. Over two dozen Facebook volunteers are working with activist organizations on the upcoming protests. "They're able to do things that we can't," said one organization leader. “They've been able to mobilize people.” (More Burma stories.)