West and blocking of Ayatollah Khamenei's Instagram account

By Mohsen Pakaein

Tehran, IRNA – On February 8, American tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram social networks, blocked the Instagram account of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, crossing another red line on the slogan of freedom of speech.

In this connection, the following points should be considered:

1. The blocking of the Instagram account of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, with 5 million followers and more than 20 million comments and a total of 4 billion views, was due to Ayatollah Khamenei's protest and criticism against the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza. A Meta spokesperson also told the AFP news agency that the page was banned due to its support for Palestine. The virtual pages belonging to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran had previously faced bans and deletion of accounts on other platforms such as X, formerly Twitter. It goes without saying that blocking media accounts of the Supreme Leader is not only against freedom of speech but also an insult to millions of followers of his positions and news.

2. The anger of the United States and international Zionism over the Supreme Leader's support for the Palestinian cause is not only a clear example of the West's double standards regarding freedom of speech, but it should also be considered as an act to encourage Israel to continue its crimes and genocide in Gaza. On the other hand, this action shows that the principled and logical positions of Ayatollah Khamenei in supporting the axis of resistance and the Palestinians as well as demanding the governments of the region to sever ties with the criminal Israeli regime, have had positive reflections among people, and the role of the nations to convince the governments Muslim has painted Palestine in order to defend its freedom.

3. Unfortunately, in the era of information explosion and new electronic media, the keys to information are in the possession of advanced industrial countries. In other words, Western countries use media tools to guide the world public opinion in the direction of their interests. This has led to the deepening of the "information gap" between developed and developing countries and exacerbates the inequality between them. Experience has proven that Westerners are considered free only as long as the distribution of information serves their interests and the blocking of the Instagram account of Ayatollah Khamenei also proves that the West’s slogan of freedom of expression and fair distribution of information is a false claim and a cover for their selfishness.

4. In recent years, figures, officials and even ordinary citizens in the West, with the support of Meta and on Instagram and Facebook pages, have used any excuse to spread anti-Islam content, such as insulting the Holy Quran and the great Prophet of Islam that has about two billion followers. Unfortunately, they have been supported by the followers of the rotten thinking of liberal democracy. In fact, one of the signs of the decline of the current world order is the unruly behavior of American platforms in desecrating the sanctity of Muslims and censoring the words of free thinkers in the world, especially the supporters of the displaced people of Gaza. There is no doubt that Ayatollah Khamenei is the most prominent supporter of the oppressed people of Palestine and Gaza in the world, and Meta cannot prevent this voice from reaching the public opinion of the world, and at the same time, this company must be accountable for its authoritarian behavior.

5. It is necessary for the independent countries opposed to the American global dictatorship, especially the members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to condemn Meta's petrifying action in blocking the accounts of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and considering the extent of its scope in the field of information and respecting multilingualism and cultural and ethnic diversity, to create a new independent information system in the program. The followers of Ayatollah Khamenei's accounts should also condemn the action of Meta, which is a clear example of human rights violations, by holding virtual campaigns and should take any possible way to unblock this account and publish Ayatollah Khamenei's statements.

Of course, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and also the great nation of Iran must play the first role in this regard and fulfill their duties in defense of free speech.