Twitter is not Iran’s largest social network—WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram are more popular—but as in many other countries, it is used to share breaking news and real-time updates on events. It prevents Iran from becoming an information black hole. “This is an important space for people to express themselves, connect with friends and family, campaign around protests, and then also hold governments accountable,” said Grothe. “We really see Twitter being used by people,” said Alimardani.
Videos and photos shared by protesters have been used to shed light on the actions of Iranian police forces and officials. One BBC investigation used social media data to help identify youth and children killed in protests across the country. There are no official records of who died during the protests, and HRANA estimates that only 3,400 people have been identified by officials in custody. More than 18,000 people were arrested.
Well-known accounts both inside and outside of Iran, belonging to realists, members of the diaspora Iranian community, and researchers, are sharing hundreds of videos of what’s happening in Iran. For example, Collective Opposition 1500tasvir saw his Farsi Twitter account grow from 55,000 followers in September to about 400,000 followers now. (In the past two months, its Instagram account has also grown from 450,000 followers to 1.7 million.)
Saeed Bagheri, a lecturer in international law at the University of Reading, said: “You cannot find any normal or accurate news from Iranian television, because there is no independent platform in the country. Bagheri said Twitter users in Iran have been “really effective in sharing live news about human rights abuses and atrocities by Islamic republics towards peaceful protests. ” November 24, United Nations opened an investigation into “fatal violence against protesters,” citing images of people who have suffered violence. Iranian officials declare “necessary measures” have been taken by the authorities.
However, it’s not just protesters and activists in Iran who use Twitter. Iranian state-backed actors have a history of trying to use Twitter to manipulate politics. In June 2019, Twitter has been deleted nearly 5,000 accounts are linked or “directly supported” by the Iranian government. These accounts — which have tweeted about 2 million times — are promoting the views of the Iranian government and using fake profiles to “target conversations about political and social issues in Iran and globally.” “.
An Iranian digital propaganda researcher, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said they had been tracking the most popular Farsi tweets for several months. Before the protests began, accounts that appeared to be pro-Iranian government, they said, were sending out messages justifying their policies. They said that when the protests began, accounts turned to sharing false and misleading information about the events. “I have never seen such a large and scaled effort to pour into Iran’s Twitterverse with disinformation. But the regime has been unsuccessful in this regard.”
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Twitter has long been the place demonstration was held. However, Musk’s takeover of the platform and chaos scene followed—including gutted Twitter’s human rights group—there could be real-world consequences where the protests are taking place. This may include the ability to keep people safe.
Article 19’s Oxford Internet Institute and Alimardani say that much of Musk’s time in charge so far has focused on US issues despite the fact that the majority of Twitter users are from outside the US. “Iranians don’t care that Elon Musk is waging war against the awakened culture in America,” Alimardani said. “The Iranians just want to get their message across to the world as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
