Massive protests have rocked Iran for months since the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained over allegedly violating the country’s dress code for women. Though the regime denies it, her family says she was beaten to death by authorities. Demonstrations have taken place all across the country and blossomed into calls to overthrow the regime. The discontent was even on display at the World Cup, when the national team refused to sing the national anthem in solidarity with protesters back home.
Tens of thousands have been arrested in response and more than 400 people have been killed, rights groups say.
But on Sunday, mainstream media outlets began reporting a positive development. The regime signaled that the morality police had been shut down. But did that really happen?
According to Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad, it’s pure “disinformation.”
1-Why do foreign media fall for the disinformation by the Iranian regime? In 2017, the regime claimed the morality police would end arrests for hijab. Yet, in 2022, it arrested & killed #MahsaAmini for hijab. Today, international media reported morality police would be abolished pic.twitter.com/OjMmCRxzmN
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 5, 2022
3-Many news media including @NYTimes regarded today's disinformation about the abolition of the morality police as a "victory". Yet, Iranians aren’t just asking for an end to morality police. They want to end this regime.
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 5, 2022
5- A regime can’t kill more than 450 protesters in 2 months including 62 children, pressure their families to keep quiet, arrest 18,000 people, sentenced many of them to death penalty and then say the morality police has been suspended. Don’t buy the Islamic regime’s lies. pic.twitter.com/D8YJNV5Xjx
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 5, 2022
To international media:
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 4, 2022
1) abolishing morality police in Iran is disinformation but it shows the fear of the regime.
2) Regime’s empty promises are a sign of desperation that the uprising continues
3) People are united in their demand for an end to Islamic Republic#MahsaAmini
It’s disinformation that Islamic Republic of Iran has abolished it’s morality police. It’s a tactic to stop the uprising.
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 4, 2022
Protesters are not facing guns and bullets to abolish morality police or forced hijab.They want to end Islamic regime.#MahsaAmini
pic.twitter.com/qRcY0Kaepc pic.twitter.com/6ShBqnSbMn
This is the real news in Iran;
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 5, 2022
Amusement centre in Tehran was closed yesterday after this photo of its employee without hijab went viral on social media.
Tehran’s prosecution has opened a case against her.
Morality police hasn’t been abolished. It was an absolute lie.#MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/2VDOLMjlVS
Another journalist attributed the false reports to "lazy journalism at best, and camouflaged lobbying at worst."
"It's truly mind-boggling when the Iranian regime is fact-checking Western media's false reporting," Tizhoosh said.
Montazeri said the following:
— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) December 4, 2022
"The morality police has nothing to do with the judiciary system. The same source that created it in the past, from the same place it has shut down. Of course, the judiciary system will continue its surveillance of social behaviours across society."
Given the above we know:
— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) December 4, 2022
- Montazeri is not in charge of the regime's morality police
- Montazeri doesn't specify who allegedly shut down the morality police (and when and how)
- Montazeri promises to continue enforcement of country's Islamic sharia laws
Editorially, it's not clear why NYT and other media outlets have chosen to:
— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) December 4, 2022
- draw definitive conclusions from Montazeri's words (who admits he's not in a position to do so)
- characterize it as a victory for feminists (when Montazeri says 'social surveillance' would continue)
It would have taken a few extra minutes to do due diligence - to understand Montazeri's comments - in the context of the Islamic Republic's MO.
— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) December 4, 2022
It's truly mind-boggling when the Iranian regime is fact-checking Western media's false reporting.
The media needs to do better.
This is starting to look like a really bad screwup by The New York Times, WSJ, and other outlets: https://t.co/MQNGpj9s3B
— AG (@AGHamilton29) December 4, 2022