• Reuters, Tuesday, February 22, 2011 2:31 PM

Overlooking Facebook, Russian officials are accusing Google of instigating the ouster of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. "Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's deputy blamed Google Inc in an interview published on Tuesday for stirring up trouble in the revolution that ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak," Reuters reports, citing a paywall-blocked story in The Wall Street Journal. "Look what they have done in Egypt, those highly placed managers of Google, what manipulations of the energy of the people took place there," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told the Journal. Google executive Wael Ghonim did in fact help lead the uprising in Egypt that led to Mubarak's deposition. Logistically, however, one could argue that U.S.-based social media companies like Facebook and Twitter has a greater impact on the revolution that Google or any one executive. Adds Reuters: "Such strong comment from one of Putin's most trusted deputies is a clear signal of growing concern among Russian hardliners about the role of the Internet in the unrest which has swept across the Arab world."

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