The spread of rumors and fake news against the Islamic Republic of Iran, reflected even in credible media worldwide, illustrates how widespread the cognitive war against it has become.
As a result, many governments have adopted this type of warfare to advance their goals. The leaders of the Israeli regime have been manipulating Western media to support their narratives. Despite committing obvious crimes in Gaza and in front of the world, sometimes the truth has been distorted and replaced with falsehoods.
The spread of rumors and fake news against the Islamic Republic of Iran, reflected even in credible media worldwide, illustrates how widespread the cognitive war against it has become. Although the Zionist regime and its political and media supporters have been waging psychological warfare against Iran since the beginning of the Islamic Republic's revolution, the intensity of this war has increased significantly over the past three months. One can review the media coverage during this period to understand the scale of this effort.
The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas, in Tehran a few hours after the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s president, marked the latest psychological attack on Iran. In this context, speculative news turned into rumors. For example, it was reported that explosives had been placed in Haniyeh’s residence three months earlier, or that the location had been targeted by drones, or that the assassin had a certain nationality. These false reports were circulated while the investigation team had yet to make any comments. It was clear that public opinion was the target, with the aim of distracting people from the real perpetrators and engaging them with fabricated scenarios.
After the assassination of Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, the late General Secretary of Hezbollah in Lebanon, rumors again reached their peak. The rumors began with the start of airstrikes on Dhahiyeh in Lebanon and resulted in a large amount of fake news.
How the Zionist regime found the location of the meeting of Hezbollah’s General Secretary, the weapons and explosives used in the airstrikes, how Seyed Hassan Nasrallah and a number of his companions were martyred, as well as the timimg and details of discovering the bodies were all the focus of fake news aimed at portraying the Islamic Republic as the culprit. This was the beginning of a project intended to widen the gap between Iran and Hezbollah.
Operation True Promise II was Iran’s legitimate response to Israel’s warmongering, which was interpreted as successful by military and political analysts in terms of its dimensions, details, goals, and achievements.
From the early hours, foreign media promoted fake news about Iran-US coordination for this operation, which was very quickly denied by both parties. The next rumor, spread by Persian-speaking media, claimed that Iranian missiles were unable to penetrate the Iron Dome, casting doubt on their effectiveness. These media outlets were attempting to portray the operation as a failure, despite many images showing that Iranian missiles had passed through Israel’s defensive system.
Despite valid evidence and foreign admissions of the success of Iran’s actions, this insane newsmongering is merely a desperate attempt by Israel to overshadow the significant impact of Operation True Promise II.
Three days after Operation True Promise II, amidst threats by media and Israeli officials claiming they would attack a corner of Iran and Tehran, news that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution would be the Imam of the week’s Friday Prayer intensified the threats immediately. The Zionist regime attempted to reduce the number of attendees at the Friday Prayer, though the event was widely welcomed by the people. As part of this effort, they spread fake news about the demise of the Leader’s wife through a channel, which was quickly denied. The presence of millions of people at the Nasr Friday Prayer demonstrated that society is largely aware of fake news and the motives behind it.
Another fake news story was produced after the presence of Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, at Beirut Airport. It was rumored that he had been killed in an airstrike in Syria. This occurred while Araghchi, despite all threats by the Israeli regime claiming it would target airplanes entering the city, traveled to Beirut. The bravery of the Iranian Foreign Minister was in stark contrast to the Zionist regime’s fear.
Another piece of fake news that has attracted the attention of Western and Hebrew media is the assassination of General Qaani, the Quds Force Commander. However, they do not agree on the time and details, as the news is fake. Another group has claimed that General Qaani has been hospitalized due to a heart attack and is under observation. These narratives are being spread while General Qaani is actually set to receive the Fath Medal from the Leader.
The necessity of being careful about narratives
By warning about the consequences of rumors and fake news propagated by foreign media, we are not denying the current situation. However, the recent month has been one of the most sensitive periods in Iran’s history. The news studios of Persian-speaking media that can influence the Iranian audience have mostly invested in magnifying Israel's military and political capabilities to force Iran to withdraw from its stances.
Benyamin Netanyahu’s request for Iranians to conflict with the government is another form of psychological warfare. Some groups that support a form of governance with a king at its top have hope in Netanyahu. This is while, if Netanyahu had a plan to make changes in Iran, he would never have gotten stuck in the quagmire of Gaza.
The destruction of the cause of Palestine is the most important goal of the Zionist regime. To achieve this goal, Israel has resorted to bombing, assassination, and at times, the spread of fake news. This field needs awareness more than anything else to prevent falling into the trap of Tel Aviv media, as well as to narrate a valid narrative from inside Iran.
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