IRAN:
Western Media Must Stop Amplifying the Islamic Regime’s Propaganda
10/07/2026
The coverage by much of the Western media following reports of the death of the Islamic regime’s Supreme Leader, Khamenei, has raised serious questions about journalistic accuracy, and responsibility.
Television broadcasts have repeatedly shown crowds attending official mourning ceremonies, creating the impression that the overwhelming majority of Iranians are grieving. That portrayal is deeply misleading and deceptive. The crowds shown represent less than one percent of Iran’s population and largely consist of the regime’s loyal supporters, members of its security apparatus, their families, and individuals affiliated with organizations aligned with the government. They do not represent the more than 92 million people of Iran, nor do they reflect the views or aspirations of the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people.
Media organizations that claim to be impartial have a duty to tell the whole story—not merely the story the regime wants the world to see.
Where is the reporting on the daily arrests of dissidents? Where is the coverage of political prisoners being denied basic rights and left to die in prison? Where are the voices of families who say they lost loved ones during the January 2026 crackdown and are still searching for their remains or have been denied the right to bury them? Why are these stories absent while state-organized funeral ceremonies dominate international headlines?
Since the escalation of the conflict in late February 2026, reports by Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) and other from human rights advocates indicate an increase in executions of political prisoners, alongside a growing number of death sentences. Daily arrests, the re-arrest of former political prisoners, raids on private homes, intimidation of citizens, and threats against activists have become part of everyday life for many Iranians. Reports also indicate that individuals who publicly expressed relief or celebrated the Supreme Leader’s death were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Yet these realities receive little attention in much of the Western media.
This is not impartial journalism. It is a failure to provide the context necessary for audiences to understand the reality faced by millions of Iranians.
Journalism is not simply about broadcasting images. It is about providing context, scrutinizing official narratives, and giving a voice to those who cannot speak freely.
When international media outlets repeatedly broadcast state-organized spectacles without giving equal attention to repression, political imprisonment, and human rights abuses in Iran, they risk serving as amplifiers of the regime’s propaganda rather than acting as independent observers.
The world deserves honest, balanced reporting. The Iranian people deserve to have their voices heard—not drowned out by the narrative promoted by a regime that has been widely accused of carrying out massacres against people of Iran, arbitrarily detaining foreign and dual nationals, and supporting or directing terrorist activities beyond Iran’s borders, including in Europe. These are the realities that deserve the same scrutiny and prominence as state-orchestrated displays broadcast to the world.
Silence in the face of repression is not neutrality. Selective reporting is not impartiality. When the voices of millions are ignored while a government’s narrative dominates international coverage, journalism ceases to serve the public and begins to serve power. Every journalist who claims to stand for truth, press freedom, and human rights should be alarmed when state-orchestrated propaganda is amplified while the suffering, imprisonment, and silencing of millions are pushed into the shadows. The world cannot claim to defend human rights while looking away from the people whose voices are being systematically suppressed.
Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)
🌐 www.cfppi.org
For Media Inquiries:
Shiva Mahbobi, Spokeswoman,📧 shiva.mahbobi@gmail.com 📞 +44 7572 356666
See CFPPI latest report: https://wp.me/p9yWrK-eo2
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