It was and still is an info war, both sides acting accordingly.
Lybian revolution had plenty of staged content that was fed to "international media" who happily gulped it down. Rebel troops taking on cities in fucking flip-flops? Sure, why not. Kind of unclear who did the actually fighting, but that's not really important, is it.
Why is it so hard to believe that they would be wearing flip-flops? Under-equipped fighters is nothing new. Here's a photo of a barefoot Khmer Rouge fighter with an RPG, at the fall of Phnom Penh.
Lybian revolution had plenty of staged content that was fed to "international media" who happily gulped it down. Rebel troops taking on cities in fucking flip-flops? Sure, why not. Kind of unclear who did the actually fighting, but that's not really important, is it.