Each conflict has its new image battle. The war in Ukraine in particular has led to several manipulations of videos or photographs in order to arouse emotion on social networks. Empathy often, sadness sometimes, or even anger. Recently, the demonstrations in Iran have not escaped this phenomenon.
Since the death of Masha Amini, murdered by the morality police for not having worn her veil correctly, demonstrations have continued in Iran to fight against the repression of the regime, especially against women. Many images have become symbols to applaud the courage of Iranian women. The problem is that they are sometimes diverted. Here is a non-exhaustive list of videos that have gone viral to be taken with tweezers. If you find any other suspicious or misleading videos, feel free to send them to us on our WhatsApp conversation dedicated to the hunt for Fake news.
FAKE OFF
- An Iranian father mourns the death of his daughter
The scene is moving. On a video, we see a man dancing in front of what appears to be a coffin. The images have been put in the TikTok sauce: a little dramatic music and a very macabre description. “It’s the saddest scene I’ve ever seen: a father promised he would dance at his wedding, now he’s dancing in front of his grave.” According to the same description, the girl was murdered by the Iranian regime during the protests.
Except that the video was completely hijacked. In reality, this scene never existed. Thanks to the Google Reverse Image tool, we find the source of the images : a series coming straight from Azerbaijan called Ata Ocağı, literally “The father’s home”. A story built around several family dramas, in particular the death of a woman who was to marry well. After his death, the family reunites and the father does indeed start dancing. The TikTok post seems to have kept the same scenario as the series by diverting it. But this post has nothing to do with Iran and they are just actors.
- Attacks at 7,000 kilometers
On social networks, another video has circulated: that of the Corps of the Guards of the Islamic Revolution (IRG) shooting at the demonstrators with fireworks. The scene is said to take place during protests in Iran. “The lives of Iranians matter”, describes the publication by hijacking the famous #Blacklivesmatter. The image is terrifying, the shots are fired and the demonstrators try to flee. But were the images actually shot in Iran?
So it’s time to dig into the bowels of Google again. We find traces of the same video which was actually taken in Indonesia, more precisely in its capital Jakarta. In September, in the Manggarai district, several clashes broke out between two groups, reports a local media.
- A demonstration in Iran… or in Kurdistan?
This is another video that has gone viral that interests us now. Relayed many times in France, in particular by the essayist Waleed Al-husseini, the video would show women removing their veils in order to protest against the assassination of Mahsa Amini. A nice encouragement from a distance only here, according to Internet users, a sign written in Arabic mentions “Kurdistan”. These images would not, according to them, be shot in Iran.
In the center of the video, a sign appears in the middle of the crowd and it does mention Kurdistan. But this time, the scene was indeed filmed during the funeral of Masha Amini. In the city of birth of the deceased, Saqqez, in the region of Iranian Kurdistan, women protested by removing their headscarves. Nothing very surprising therefore to see a Kurdistan sign through the crowd, the region where the video was taken.