Many Instagram influencers outside of Iran are posting stories to bring attention to the oppression faced by Iranians, including extrajudicial killings and torture. They claim their positing is vital to get information out of a country where the internet is blocked. But some influencers claim that their accounts are being demonetized, reported or blocked as a response by Instagram.
“As women in the US fight to maintain bodily autonomy we must look at Iran as a lesson of what can happen to women,” said Kusha Alagband @Kusha_Alagband an Iranian living in the US who has more than 127,000 followers and has reported being demonetized and shadow banned by Instagram after her content became political. “Iran went from a liberal country to an oppressive regime overnight. It is a warning for all of us.”
TOPSHOT - A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran shows shows a demonstrator raising his arms and ... [+]
The protests in Iran started as a response to the death of Mahsa Amini who was arrested by the morality police for wearing “improper hijab” on September 13th, 2022 and died in custody, allegedly after being beaten to death. The first protests took place after Amini's funeral in the western city of Saqqez, when women ripped off their headscarves in solidarity.
Alagband said that after the death of Amini she published a story about a recent encounter she had with the morality police during a visit to Iran, which contained no swear words or calls to violence. This story was removed for violating community guidelines. Amani has tried to appeal and opened 12 support tickets but she is not being provided with more information. Her account was blocked for a week, and she is no longer able to earn money on the platform.
“I support the revolution because everything I stand for is depending on it and people are being killed for universal rights and values,” said Golsa Golestaneh an Iranian content creator @golsa_g. I “am Iranian. My account has faced lots of censorship, my content being removed and the status is always warning me of losing my account. A video sharing police violence in Iran was removed.”
Golsa Golestaneh shows threats by Instagram to remove her account after she posted a video about ... [+]
After the death of Amini a large protest movement swept Iran. Massive street demonstrations led by women are supported by wide sectors of society. Reaction from the government has been swift. By late October it has been reported that security forces have killed 244 protesters and arrested over 12,000 but these numbers are hard to verify and could be much higher. Teenage protesters have been arrested, tortured and killed. The government is also stating that they may execute all political prisoners en masse.
“The protests in Iran are the biggest civil rights fight of the 21st Century,” said Chelsea Hart @chelseahartisme with 218,000 followers on Instagram who has been demonetized after posting on this topic. “Iranians are also fighting to preserve their culture and history. They have given so much to the world and they deserve our support.”
Chelsea Hart engages in activism on social media and in real life in support of the Iranian people
Soon after Hart (who uses they/their pronouns) began to post about Iran they found that their account had been demonetized. This means that they are no longer able to collect money from any video, including videos that have nothing to do with Iran and any funds made are being held by Meta, Instagram’s parent company.
Meta and Instagram did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Hart claims that they got no notification as to why this happened. They claim that at a protest a Meta representative did approach them in person and say “we are on it.” But their account remains demonetized.
“I do a lot of activism and take on controversial topics. I also swear a lot. But I’ve never been flagged as much as I have for posting about Iran,” said Hart.
Hart’s posts have also drawn attention from bots (automated accounts) controlled by the Iranian Government and spokespeople. Hart claims these accounts sew disinformation and aren’t fact checked by media outlets.
Hart has also drawn attention to the plight of solidarity protesters such as Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi. Rekabi was competing in South Korea and did so without wearing hijab which is a mandatory part of the uniform for all Iranian female athletes.
“It was a silent protest. Her brother was kidnapped in retaliation and Rekabi was forced to give a fake confession saying that she simply forgot her hijab, which is unlikely since she has worn it her whole life,” said Hart. “Forced confessions are normal in Iran. Many westerners believed this confession. Rekabi is under house arrest and isn’t safe in Iran. We tend to think that if a person isn’t in prison in Iran they are safe, but no one is safe in Iran under the current regime.”
Hart believes that while the US and Iran are not on good diplomatic terms, western governments want to negotiate with the Iranian government in order to have access to their oil. To negotiate they must establish that the current government is legitimate in spite of the protests. This policy has seeped down into media outlets and social media platforms.
Alagband has a different theory, that there are sympathizers to the regime who work in content moderation in IG or who are being paid by the regime. She said that all of the comments she gets on her posts have been positive with no trolling.
Other IG influencers have reported similar cases of being flagged, demonetized or having accounts deactivated. As part of the operating mechanism of Instagram and Meta, when an account is flagged or deactivated there is often no clear reason given and no way to get in touch with a representative. This can cause a chilling effect on free speech as more people rely on creator funds and social media as a revenue stream.
“I have a large following and am getting attention from Meta but so many smaller creators, especially Iranians, never get their accounts back,” said Hart. Hart also stated that many families of protesters killed or arrested are afraid to speak out in fear of retaliation and also that the government has turned off internet access, so they see it as their duty to post on their behalf.
Alagband, Hart and other creators are quick to point out that the effect on their livelihoods is nothing compared to the oppression and violence faced by Iranian women. From the reports they get from Iranians, the protest movement is growing. It is the American media that is no longer paying attention as news cycles move on.
These content creators believe their voices are needed for the world to not forget the cries of freedom of the Iranian people.
