{"id":333203,"date":"2025-06-20T21:10:31","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T20:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=333203"},"modified":"2025-06-20T21:10:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T20:10:31","slug":"irans-digital-apartheid-regime-loyalists-flood-the-internet-while-the-rest-of-the-nation-goes-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/society\/irans-digital-apartheid-regime-loyalists-flood-the-internet-while-the-rest-of-the-nation-goes-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Digital Apartheid: Regime Loyalists Flood the Internet While the Rest of the Nation Goes Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_333204\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-333204\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-333204 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-generated-iran-digital-apartheid-e1750449209164.jpg\" alt=\"AI-generated image shows one display with pro-regime content, the other with no access\u2014illustrating Iran\u2019s digital apartheid in action\" width=\"1000\" height=\"567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-generated-iran-digital-apartheid-e1750449209164.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-generated-iran-digital-apartheid-e1750449209164-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-generated-iran-digital-apartheid-e1750449209164-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-generated-iran-digital-apartheid-e1750449209164-741x420.jpg 741w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-generated-iran-digital-apartheid-e1750449209164-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-generated-iran-digital-apartheid-e1750449209164-696x395.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-333204\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">AI-generated image shows one display with pro-regime content, the other with no access\u2014illustrating Iran\u2019s digital apartheid in action<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>Three-minutes read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the war enters its second week, the clerical dictatorship Iran is waging a simultaneous war on truth, choking off its citizens from the outside world while flooding the internet with choreographed messaging from regime loyalists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The country has been under a near-total <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/iran-internet-shutdown-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">internet blackout<\/a> since June 18, in what experts say is one of the most extensive digital shutdowns since the November 2019 protests. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/netblocks\/status\/1936046040966213682\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">watchdog group NetBlocks<\/a>, the current disruption has lasted more than 48 hours and is \u201cthe most severe\u201d since those earlier demonstrations, when the regime cut connectivity to suppress mass dissent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But this time, the blackout has coincided with a dramatic spike in coordinated online activity\u2014from inside Iran.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fa\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0645\u0644\u062a \u0639\u0632\u06cc\u0632 \u0627\u06cc\u0631\u0627\u0646! <br \/>\u0647\u0645\u0647 \u0648\u0632\u0627\u0631\u062a\u062e\u0627\u0646\u0647 \u0647\u0627 \u0648 \u062f\u0633\u062a\u06af\u0627\u0647 \u0647\u0627\u06cc \u062f\u0648\u0644\u062a\u06cc \u0645\u0623\u0645\u0648\u0631\u06cc\u062a \u06cc\u0627\u0641\u062a\u0647 \u0627\u0646\u062f \u0628\u0627 \u062a\u0645\u0627\u0645 \u062a\u0648\u0627\u0646 \u0648 \u0627\u0645\u06a9\u0627\u0646\u0627\u062a \u067e\u0627\u0628\u0647 \u067e\u0627\u06cc \u0635\u0628\u0648\u0631\u06cc \u0648 \u0647\u0645\u0631\u0627\u0647\u06cc \u0634\u0645\u0627 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0628\u0631\u0627\u06cc_\u0627\u06cc\u0631\u0627\u0646<\/a> \u0627\u0632 \u0647\u06cc\u0686 \u062e\u062f\u0645\u062a\u06cc \u062f\u0631\u06cc\u063a \u0646\u0648\u0631\u0632\u0646\u062f. <br \/>\u0628\u0647 \u0644\u0637\u0641 \u062e\u062f\u0627 \u0648 \u0628\u0647 \u0645\u062f\u062f \u0647\u0645\u062f\u0644\u06cc \u0648 \u0627\u0646\u0633\u062c\u0627\u0645 \u0627\u0632 \u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0631\u0648\u0632\u0647\u0627\u06cc \u0633\u062e\u062a \u0648 \u062f\u0634\u0648\u0627\u0631 \u0639\u0628\u0648\u0631 \u062e\u0648\u0627\u0647\u06cc\u0645 \u06a9\u0631\u062f.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drpezeshkian\/status\/1935590121878835287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On platforms that have long been banned in Iran, including X (formerly Twitter), thousands of state-linked users have been active in recent days, posting rally footage, slogans, and speeches by the regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Khamenei_fa\/status\/1936042178867859702\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who declared in one video<\/a>, \u201cThe Zionist regime made a grave mistake and will suffer the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One account shows a state-organized crowd at Tehran Friday prayers, chanting slogans while air raid sirens blare in the distance. Another, from IRGC-affiliated <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FarsNews_Agency\/status\/1936037154817294438\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fars News Agency<\/a>, shows three young women with loosely worn hijabs at a regime rally chanting \u201cDeath to traitors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another post by a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/fatemeh_sadat91\/status\/1936018627964080390\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tehran-based user mocks<\/a> Israelis for seeking shelter from airstrikes: \u201cYou go crawl into your bunkers. We\u2019re standing tall in the heart of Tehran for Seyyed Ali.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fa\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0633\u0646\u062f \u062c\u0646\u0627\u06cc\u0627\u062a \u0635\u0647\u06cc\u0648\u0646\u06cc\u0633\u062a\u200c\u0647\u0627\u0633\u062a <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VKBqpxlYOz\">pic.twitter.com\/VKBqpxlYOz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u062e\u0628\u0631\u06af\u0632\u0627\u0631\u06cc \u0641\u0627\u0631\u0633 (@FarsNews_Agency) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FarsNews_Agency\/status\/1936023998078599189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While everyday Iranians struggle with food shortages, rising prices, and total information isolation, these state-favored users operate freely. Despite the regime\u2019s public ban on X, their access is uninterrupted\u2014and unrestricted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This digital double standard is nothing new. Regime officials and affiliates have long used platforms banned to the public to push their message abroad, without facing the same surveillance, throttling, or legal penalties. In contrast, ordinary users caught using VPNs face prosecution or worse.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fatemeh Mohajerani, a government spokesperson, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/internet\/iran-plunged-internet-blackout-deepening-conflict-rcna213544\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">claimed the internet<\/a> restrictions were in response to Israeli cyberattacks. However, the asymmetric nature of the blackout\u2014silencing the public while allowing propaganda to flourish\u2014suggests a more calculated motive.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fa\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0641\u0642\u0637 \u06cc\u0647 \u0646\u0645\u0627\u0632 \u062c\u0645\u0639\u0647 \u0648 \u0631\u0627\u0647\u067e\u06cc\u0645\u0627\u06cc\u06cc \u0646\u0628\u0648\u062f <br \/>\u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0633\u0648\u062e\u062a \u0627\u0635\u0644\u06cc \u0645\u0648\u0634\u06a9\u200c\u0647\u0627\u06cc \u0627\u06cc\u0631\u0627\u0646 \u0628\u0647 \u0642\u0644\u0628 \u0627\u0633\u0631\u0627\u0626\u06cc\u0644 \u0628\u0648\u062f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Xt9T1tghGb\">pic.twitter.com\/Xt9T1tghGb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u0639\u0628\u0640\u062f\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0640\u062c\u06cc\u062f \u062e\u0631\u0642\u0640\u0627\u0646\u06cc \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf7 (@Abdul_Majid33) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Abdul_Majid33\/status\/1936036483992780908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One notable example is a so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/3eyedamir\/status\/1935967065107546608\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">entrepreneur urging Iranians<\/a> abroad (many of whom are cut off from their families and news) to use the domestic Baleh app. The platform is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/voa-persian-iranian-domestic-messaging-apps-lack-security\/7906713.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">widely known<\/a> to operate on infrastructure under the control of Iranian intelligence services. Such posts illustrate how tightly coordinated the regime\u2019s digital campaign is.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">These messaging efforts aim to show that the regime remains in control, even as its people face airstrikes, power outages, and lack of access to basic information. But the accounts doing this work do not represent the general public. Many use anonymous handles, stock or AI-generated avatars, and suspiciously identical bios claiming to be \u201cfrom Tehran\u201d or other Iranian cities. Experts and exiled digital rights activists believe many of these are part of the regime\u2019s so-called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/irans-cyber-army-a-force-of-disinformation-for-a-cursed-cause\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cyber army<\/a>\u201d\u2014a vast network of accounts deployed to simulate popular support and suppress dissent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the complex ecosystem of the regime\u2019s security web, another tactic is increasingly visible: coordinated comment campaigns from anonymous accounts claiming to be monarchists or supporters of the son of Iran\u2019s deposed Shah. Despite having no avatars and declaring themselves located inside Iran\u2014a country under tight surveillance\u2014these users brazenly attack regime officials or state media figures. But their goal is not dissent; rather, it is to create a false image of widespread royalist sentiment, divert attention from genuine opposition forces, and fracture civil society.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fa\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0645\u0627\u0634\u0627\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0628\u0647 \u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0645\u0631\u062f\u0645 \u06a9\u0647 \u0631\u0627\u0647\u067e\u06cc\u0645\u0627\u06cc\u06cc \u062a\u0645\u0627\u0645 \u0634\u062f\u0647 \u0648 \u0647\u0645\u0686\u0646\u0627\u0646 \u067e\u0627\u06cc \u06a9\u0627\u0631 \u0647\u0633\u062a\u0646\u062f. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pGvx1xtLKX\">pic.twitter.com\/pGvx1xtLKX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u0639\u0644\u06cc \u0628\u0647\u0627\u062f\u0631\u06cc \u062c\u0647\u0631\u0645\u06cc (@alibahaadori) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alibahaadori\/status\/1936024081775968269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The distinction between \u201cus\u201d and \u201cthem\u201d in the regime\u2019s worldview is stark. Loyalists are protected, privileged, and well-fed, with uninterrupted digital access even in wartime. They are the intended audience of Khamenei\u2019s speeches and the participants in his rallies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But for the overwhelming majority\u2014those who are not regime insiders\u2014life means crackdowns, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/iran-faces-escalating-economic-crisis-as-inflation-soars-and-protests-intensify\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">economic deprivation<\/a>, discrimination, and now, complete digital darkness. It is a system designed not to govern a nation, but to preserve a fortress.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The war may be new. The censorship is not.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fa\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0644\u064f\u0637\u0641 \u0622\u0646\u0686\u0647 \u062a\u0648 \u0627\u0646\u062f\u06cc\u0634\u06cc<br \/>\u062d\u064f\u06a9\u0645 \u0622\u0646\u0686\u0647 \u062a\u0648 \u0641\u0631\u0645\u0627\u06cc\u06cc <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3kTfFiMEYF\">pic.twitter.com\/3kTfFiMEYF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; S.Abbas Mousavi | \u0633\u06cc\u062f\u0639\u0628\u0627\u0633 \u0645\u0648\u0633\u0648\u06cc (@SAMOUSAVI9) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SAMOUSAVI9\/status\/1935427679911571680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Tehran and across the country, internet caf\u00e9s are shuttered, app stores are inaccessible, and mobile data is virtually nonexistent. Exiled Iranians report being unable to reach family members. Livestreams of strikes, explosions, or protests are absent not because they aren\u2019t happening\u2014but because no one is able to post them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This isn\u2019t just a digital divide\u2014it\u2019s a digital apartheid. A system built to separate regime insiders from the rest of society, granting one group full access to information, security, and mobility while locking the majority into silence and fear. In doing so, the regime reveals who it truly sees as the primary threat\u2014not Israel, not the United States, but the Iranian people themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three-minutes read As the war enters its second week, the clerical dictatorship Iran is waging a simultaneous war on truth, choking off its citizens from the outside world while flooding [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":333204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1744],"class_list":["post-333203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-society","tag-iran-internet"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Iran\u2019s Digital Apartheid: Regime Loyalists Flood the Internet While the Rest of the Nation Goes Dark - 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