Lina Ben Mhenni

Ben Mhenni's blog, A Tunisian Girl, is written in Arabic, English, and French.[7] During the rule of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali until 2011, Ben Mhenni was one of the few bloggers to blog using her real name rather than adopting a pseudonym to protect her identity.[7][8] Her blog, as well as her Facebook and Twitter accounts, were censored under the Ben Ali regime.[9]

Ben Mhenni began posting photos and video of protests of those injured throughout Tunisia. In an effort to make the government responsible for its actions and to the people who were harmed in these uprisings, she visited local hospitals and took pictures of those harmed by police.[10]

In May 2010, Ben Mhenni was among the core organizers of a protest in Tunis against the government's suppression of media and censorship of the internet.[11]

In January 2011, she covered the early weeks of the Tunisian Revolution from Sidi Bouzid Governorate in the interior of the country.[7] Ben Mhenni was the only blogger present in the interior cities of Kasserine and Regueb when government forces massacred and suppressed protesters in the region.[7] Her reports and posts provided uncensored information to other Tunisian activists and the international media.[7]

Since the Tunisian Revolution began and until she died, Ben Mhenni played a prominent role amongst Tunisia's bloggers and democracy activists. She participated in the interim government’s reforms to media and information laws, but resigned shortly after. She continued to work in tracking press freedom and human rights in the country.

She was vocal against continuing corruption in the Tunisian regime,[5] criticized the Islamist party Ennahda for a "double discourse" that espoused reactionary views on social media while its leaders presented a different image to traditional media,[5] and demanded the release of Alaa Abdel-Fatah upon his arrest in October 2011.[12] In a 2014 editorial for CNN, she wrote that her activism after Ben Ali's overthrow had led to her receiving death threats and requiring close protection of the police.[13]

Ben Mhenni stated that Tunisia's revolution "cannot be called an internet revolution", and insisted that the revolution against Ben Ali was fought "on the ground" through demonstrations and resistance.[14] She also stated her belief that "action in the digital world must be combined with actions in the real world."[15] She was quoted as saying: “It is not enough to publish a status, or a video, or share a hashtag. You have to work in the field, meet people, and be present during the demonstrations.” [11][15]

She continued to act on her words until she died. Along with her father, she started an initiative to create libraries in prisons to promote culture and counter terrorism.[16] In her final months, she denounced the state of hospitals in the Tunisian capital.[17]