Tehran blasts Twitter for shuttering accounts of 'real Iranians'
Tehran blasts Twitter for shuttering accounts of 'real Iranians'
Iran's foreign minister also criticised Twitter for not clamping down on alleged US-backed bots calling for regime change.
2 min read
Foreign minister Javad Zarif in Karachi [Getty]
Iran's foreign minister accused Twitter on Sunday of shutting down the accounts of "real" Iranians, but failing to take action against bots used to encourage regime change.
Iran has charged foreign adversaries including Saudi Arabia, Israel and exile opposition groups of launching social media campaigns meant to undermine the Islamic government.
The #Iran_Regime_Change hashtag is popular on Twitter, and experts say most of the accounts using the hashtag originate outside Iran.
An investigation by Al Jazeera published on Saturday said most of these tweeters express support for the Mujahedeen-e Khalq exile opposition group, which has headquarters in Albania.
Facebook and Twitter are blocked in Iran, with authorities citing national security concerns. However they remain easily accessible through a virtual private network (VPN).
In August, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc deleted hundreds of accounts linked to Iran that the former said had "anti-Saudi, anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian" themes.
Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a member of the royal family who was arrested in November last year as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's purported anti-corruption probe, invested $300 million in Twitter in 2011.
A June Washington Post analysis piece said that Gulf Cooperation Council states create thousands of bots to tweet in coordination to further political goals.
Agencies contributed to this report.
"Hello @Jack. Twitter has shuttered accounts of real Iranians, (including) TV presenters & students, for supposedly being part of an 'influence op'," Javad Zarif said, referring to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
"How about looking at actual bots in (the Albanian capital of) Tirana used to prop up 'regime change' propaganda spewed out of (Washington) DC? #YouAreBots," he added.
The #Iran_Regime_Change hashtag is popular on Twitter, and experts say most of the accounts using the hashtag originate outside Iran.
An investigation by Al Jazeera published on Saturday said most of these tweeters express support for the Mujahedeen-e Khalq exile opposition group, which has headquarters in Albania.
Facebook and Twitter are blocked in Iran, with authorities citing national security concerns. However they remain easily accessible through a virtual private network (VPN).
Twitter Post
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Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a member of the royal family who was arrested in November last year as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's purported anti-corruption probe, invested $300 million in Twitter in 2011.
A June Washington Post analysis piece said that Gulf Cooperation Council states create thousands of bots to tweet in coordination to further political goals.
Agencies contributed to this report.
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