(6.August 2013) The Arab Spring began with events in December 2010 and January-February 2011: notably the self-immolation of a Tunisian fruitseller on Dec. 17, 2010; the fleeing of the Tunisian president less than a month later; the January 25 movement in Egypt; and Mubarak’s resignation in February.

According to PBS, starting in November 2010, Wikileaks released ten Tunisian cables written between 2006-2009 by the State Department that documented widespread corruption in the government of President Zine al-Abadine Ben Ali.

PBS reported that these cables were widely available in Tunisia, and though the corruption wasn’t news to the Tunisians, the bluntness of the analysis was.