As mass protests against Iran’s ruling clerical establishment enter their seventh day, opposition groups and digital analysts say the state is deploying a coordinated disinformation campaign to blunt the momentum of the uprising and confuse public opinion.
Demonstrations erupted in Tehran after a dramatic collapse in the value of Iran’s currency forced many businesses to shut their doors. What began as an economic protest rapidly escalated into open calls for the removal of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an end to clerical rule. At least ten protesters have reportedly been killed so far, including a 15-year-old boy, amid violent clashes with security forces.
According to activists and opposition sources, the regime has responded not only with force but with a sophisticated online campaign aimed at discrediting the movement. Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are accused of infiltrating demonstrations while state-linked online networks circulate manipulated videos and misleading narratives on social media.
One key tactic, critics say, involves reframing the protests as a monarchist movement. Plainclothes agents are alleged to have entered crowds chanting slogans in support of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah deposed during the 1979 revolution. Opposition figures argue this is designed to divide protesters and alienate Iranians who oppose both monarchy and the current theocracy.
An activist said protest footage has been deliberately altered, with new audio tracks added to imply support for restoring the monarchy. “The aim is to dilute the clear demand for regime change,” he said, noting that in multiple videos protesters can be heard rejecting both the Shah and the Supreme Leader.
Digital analysts examining these clips report clear signs of manipulation, including mismatched acoustics, lip-sync inconsistencies, and crowd reactions that do not align with the added audio. In several cases, the original unedited footage later resurfaced online, exposing the alterations.
Similar tactics have reportedly been used elsewhere. In Mashhad, plainclothes agents allegedly disrupted the funeral of an anti-regime lawyer by chanting pro-monarchy slogans before assisting security forces in arresting mourners. In another incident in Marivan, activists claimed IRGC operatives were instructed to deploy the same chants if protests broke out.
Maryam Rajavi, has reiterated its call for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Iran, stressing that the current protests represent a broad rejection of authoritarian rule rather than support for any past system.
Tensions have also been heightened internationally after US President Donald Trump warned Tehran against further bloodshed, saying Washington was prepared to support peaceful protesters if killings continued.
As protests persist, opposition groups say the battle is now being fought both on the streets and online—between a population demanding change and a state determined to control the narrative.