Iran Sends Warning SMS Messages To Potential Protestors
from the big-brother-is-txting-you dept
Mobile phone service and things like texting are pretty popular in Iran, and we’ve seen how Iranian officials have struggled to deal with that in the past. For example, one politician threatened revenge against anyone who sent negative text messages about him, and the government has also announced that it will filter out text messages it deems inappropriate or immoral. But rather than just trying to block or condemn the technology, it looks like officials are now looking to use it to warn against dissent as well. On The Media points us to the news that the government has been sending text messages to mobile phone subscribers it believes are planning to take part in protests, marking the one year anniversary of last June’s election protests, warning them not to take part:
The message, which has the Ministry’s emergency phone number, 113, reads, “Dear citizen, according to received information, you have been influenced by the destabilising propaganda which the media affiliated with foreign countries have been disseminating. In case of any illegal action and contact with the foreign media, you will be charged as a criminal consistent with the Islamic Punishment Act and dealt with by the Judiciary”.
You may remember, last year, many people credited text messaging and services like Twitter for helping to get the news out about what was actually happening during the protests. This bit of news is a reminder that two can play at that game, and governments can often use the same technology to try to stifle dissent. This isn’t a condemnation of the technology, of course, but just a reminder that the technology can be used for a variety of different purposes.
Filed Under: iran, sms, text messages, warnings
Comments on “Iran Sends Warning SMS Messages To Potential Protestors”
Well....
I suppose it’s nice to see people innovating…. though this was not what I was hoping for with innovation.
Weird situation...
This whole Iran situation is weird. I normally, for better or worse, can formulate strong convictions on how I’d like to see international issues resolved, but Iran just makes my head hurt.
As the article hilights, you’ve got a relatively developed, educated population under the heels of what can only be described as a prolifically paranoid with barely contained psychosis. And the west has a hard time getting a foothold there, unlike in some other Islamic countries in which we’ve made headways, because we fucked with that country so horribly in the early part of the century.
Somehow, again as hinted in this article, I think technology will be the barrier crumbler. As educated as the Iranian people are, they’re going to continue to demand technology products and greater worldwide access. I don’t think the kind of lock down China is doing would work there, and as communication increases, so will disatisfaction….
How can we help?
Sadly, they’ve been doing this since last year.
Propaganda? Ha! The sheeple are waking up. It’s about time. The rest of the world is merely being supportive because they recognize Iran’s bullshit leadership for what it really is.
Re: Re:
“Propaganda? Ha!”
Are you familiar with who ruled Iran prior to their revolution, how they came to power, and why? Their fear of western propoganda is not unfounded, even if it may no longer be legitimate….
“The sheeple are waking up. It’s about time.”
Iranians, as a rule, are relatively involved and active in their government. Don’t let western propoganda fool you. They are not sheeple….
“The rest of the world is merely being supportive because they recognize Iran’s bullshit leadership for what it really is.”
An overreaction swinging the pendulum too far opposite the bullshit leadership that western governments and intelligence agencies put in place in the early to mid 1900’s? Maybe if the CIA had never funded and organized the overthrow of the Iranian Prime Minister in 1953, we wouldn’t be having this conversation….
Foreign (to Iran) intelligence agencies
were suspected of being behind the Twitter campaign, so yes, does work “both” ways. Always suspect everything. Just because Iran is a paranoid police state doesn’t mean there aren’t worse ones trying to overthrow it.
“you have been influenced by the destabilising propaganda which the media affiliated with foreign countries have been disseminating”
This statement makes no sense to me. If you are part of a totalitarian government, would you want to broadcast to your citizens that other countries have so much influence on your country that they can instigate a protest of several hundred people lasting several days?
Re: Re:
“This statement makes no sense to me. If you are part of a totalitarian government, would you want to broadcast to your citizens that other countries have so much influence on your country that they can instigate a protest of several hundred people lasting several days?”
Two reasons:
1. For a totalitarian government, the more brutal you are, the more important it is to be seen as a victim. This provides an excuse for their behavior. Which sounds better, Iranian govt. brutally represses an uprising within their own citizens, or Iranian govt. fights back against foreign meddling?
2. This is a global world, and international appearences mean everything. While we hold a fairly uniform opinion of Iran in America and England, it’s very different in Asia and Africa, where most countries view America as imperialistic and meddlesome (often for very valid reasons). This type of message will resonate w/them, both in terms of govt. and popular opinion. Both of these can result in adverse affects on relations w/the west, which will then factor into whether the west wants to keep meddling, etc. etc. etc….
Re: Re: Re:
Which sounds better, Iranian govt. brutally represses an uprising within their own citizens, or Iranian govt. fights back against foreign meddling?
I understand your point about playing into the perception that “foreign countries” are meddlesome, but it would seem to me that most Iranians would be able to see through the pretence that the protests were organized outside Iran. Not to mention that, for the people who actually believe that it was caused by outsiders, the implications is “The Iranian people are so easily swayed by outside meddling that it can disrupt our country for days on end.” It’s a no win situation, people either think their government is telling an outright lie or that it’s incompetent.
Re: Re: Re: Re:
“It’s a no win situation, people either think their government is telling an outright lie or that it’s incompetent.”
I think they were trying more for the, “we’re susceptible to getting fucked with because we’re the good, fair guys being picked on by the neighborhood bully”.
Frankly, I’m not so sure they’re wrong….
Re: Re: Re:2 Re:
I think they were trying more for the, “we’re susceptible to getting fucked with because we’re the good, fair guys being picked on by the neighborhood bully”.
I don’t know. Totalitarian governments are all about control and by publisizing that you have so little control of your people that the entire country can be disrupted by other countries, your control is undermined.
Frankly, I’m not so sure they’re wrong….
Wait, are you saying that the protesters were not motivated by honest anger over the election and that the protests were really caused by foreign governments? I don’t think that anyone can deny that outside forces can affect the Iranian people, but if this is what you’re saying, it’s a great disservice to the courage and integrity of the protestors.
Re: Re: Re:3 Re:
“Wait, are you saying that the protesters were not motivated by honest anger over the election and that the protests were really caused by foreign governments?”
Not caused, fueled by. Well-intentioned people can be manipulated and used by nefarious forces for their own gain. Is it so far out of the realm of possibility to believe that the CIA is fanning the flames here to create unrest and discord as part of a plan to swoop in and put in place a Western Govt. puppet? I mean, to be fair, that hasn’t happened to Iran in…oh wait, only about fifty years or so….
“it’s a great disservice to the courage and integrity of the protestors.”
No it isn’t. Nor would I deny the courage and integrity of the pawns in the Red October revolution, just those that were moving the pieces around….
Re: Re: Re:4 Re:
Not caused, fueled by.
I have no doubt that some people in the US government watched the Iranian protests with unbridled glee, hoping that the government would fall. And, to be honest, I wouldn’t be too surprised to find out that the CIA or some other government agency tried to encourage the protests. But even “fueled” by is too strong a word. I honestly believe that in the heart-of-hearts of most of the protesters was true outrage over the perceived theft of the election. If “The West” fueled this in any way, it wasn’t directly through some secret ops, but moreso indirectly by making communication tools available that allowed the citizens to see what happens outside their country and to organize protests about the things happening inside of it.
No it isn’t. Nor would I deny the courage and integrity of the pawns in the Red October revolution, just those that were moving the pieces around….
You might say it’s splitting hairs, but there is a big distinction between doing a disservice to something and denying something. By suggesting that the protesters were manipulated by outside forces into protesting, you’re effectively saying that while they may be courageous and have integrity, they’re not too bright. This is the disservice.
Re: Re: Re:5 Re:
“I have no doubt that some people in the US government watched the Iranian protests with unbridled glee, hoping that the government would fall. And, to be honest, I wouldn’t be too surprised to find out that the CIA or some other government agency tried to encourage the protests. But even “fueled” by is too strong a word. I honestly believe that in the heart-of-hearts of most of the protesters was true outrage over the perceived theft of the election. If “The West” fueled this in any way, it wasn’t directly through some secret ops, but moreso indirectly by making communication tools available that allowed the citizens to see what happens outside their country and to organize protests about the things happening inside of it.”
You are, of course, free to believe what you wish. I strongly suggest that given what the US in general and the CIA in particular have done in the past, primarily in South America and the Middle East (including the overthrow of Iran’s PM and installing the pro-western Shah), history is overwhelmingly on my side.
This is what the CIA does. For a couple of pertinent historic examples:
1. Operation Mongoose: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Project
2. Operation Ajax: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat (Note the names here of Allen and John Dulles, CFR members who were also involved in the creation of both the Nazi state of Germany and the Soviet Union)
3. Operation Fortune: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat (Note again the Dulles brothers’ involvement, with the addition of CFR member E. Howard Hunt)
4. Iraq 1960: The CIA attempts unsuccessfully to assassinate Iraqi dictator Abdul Karim Qassim
5. During the Congo Crisis of 1960, the CIA and the Belgians orchestrated Lumumba’s removal in a military coup. He was subsequently murdered in prison.
6. Operation Brother Sam in Brazil: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Brother_Sam#American_Involvement
7. Iraq, 1968 – The CIA assists the Baath party in overthrowing Abdul Arif, quickly bringing Saddam to power
8. Bolivia 1971, the CIA assists in overthrowing Juan Torres
9. Afghanistan, 1978 – The CIA spends billions to arm the mujahadeen insurgents even before the Soviet invasion. Zbigniew Brzezinski, creator of the CFR, is quoted in a French magazine as saying, “That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Soviets into the Afghan trap… The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, “We now have the opportunity of giving to the Soviet Union its Vietnam War.”
10. Nicaragua 1981-1990 – The CIA plants harbor mines and is involved in sinking civilian ships in order to overthrow the Sandanista government
This is only up to the end of the cold war and is by no means an exhaustive list. A fairly good detailed list exists here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions
Hopefully
Hopefully the rest of the world won’t be distracted by the death of a pop star this year and will truly pay attention to what Iran’s citizens are saying.
Re: Hopefully
Are you suggesting that the Iranian government assassinated Michael Jackson? Interesting…
Re: Re: Hopefully
If they did, I propose the United States immediately open diplomatic relations with these heroes….
Iran is just another Islamic hellhole, and should be walled off from the world.
The fact that the populace of their dung-heap has not been able to throw off the yoke of their oppressors demonstrates that not enough of them really care to. Thus, they have earned their condition, and accepted the fate that their cornholing theocratic government has dealt them. All theocracies, no matter their religion, are equally evil, and their leaders need to be exterminated or nothing will ever improve. Frankly, if their entire country sank into the earth’s mantle, I would not lose a moment’s sleep over it. Just leave the oil behind.
Re: Iran is just another Islamic hellhole, and should be walled off from the world.
“The fact that the populace of their dung-heap has not been able to throw off the yoke of their oppressors demonstrates that not enough of them really care to. Thus, they have earned their condition, and accepted the fate that their cornholing theocratic government has dealt them.”
True American ignorance at its finest. Why don’t you take a flight over to Iran and organize some anti-government rallies? Don’t worry, you won’t be murdered or worse held captive against your will without due process for years on end.
You do realize Americans are being held captive in Iran for hiking…hiking. Read up before you make another off-base comment:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jCVLd5nyPxna4qwYBOwXd7wgHO6Q
Re: Iran is just another Islamic hellhole, and should be walled off from the world.
Sweet Jesus, I hope you’re being sarcastic, but in case you aren’t, a few things to note about Iran:
1. It’s the 18th largest nation in the world by land area
2. It’s Persia. Some folks don’t know that. Iran = Persia
3. It is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations
4. Iran was a founding member of the UN
“The fact that the populace of their dung-heap has not been able to throw off the yoke of their oppressors demonstrates that not enough of them really care to.”
That’s not unlike saying the same thing about Americans. 99% of government in Iran, including federal and local, is elected through universal sufferage. There have been claims of voter fraud in these elections…just like in America. There have been claims of vote manipulation through voting mechanics….just like in America. Detractors point to the need for approval by an overseeing body to be included in Presidential elections as a method of oppression….not unlike the way that the role of money and business in financing campaigns in America are. The people of a sovereign nation have the right choose to their own government, and by and large it seems as though the people of Iran have chosen theirs. The fact that we don’t like it shouldn’t mean a whole lot….
“Thus, they have earned their condition, and accepted the fate that their cornholing theocratic government has dealt them.”
Okay, Iran’s economy has improved STEADILY since the Iranian Revolution. They maintain diplomatic relations with every UN member other than the USA and Israel. Thus, they are more diplomatically inclusive than the United States. Govt. spending has led to inflation problems, relatively only slightly above what has occurred in the United States. It has biotechnology and nanotechnology industries that are emerging to compete with their oil industry. They issued a mandate this year to move to a free market system by 2015. Iran has the largest manufacturing industry in all the middle east. It now has wind power, hydroelectric power, and geothermal plants in an effort to be more environmentally conscious.
In other words, don’t believe the tripe that is spoonfed to you. Iran isn’t a cess pool and it is staging itself to become an energy superpower. Were it not for questionable sanctions imposed by the UN, it is likely that Iran would be an economic force relative to their population size.
Re: Re: Shouldn't you register as a foreign lobbyist before spewing your apologia for Iran?
Taken at face value, your response lauding Iran as a model for other nations to aspire to is so laughably ludicrous that I should wonder if you’re being sarcastic yourself. You forgot to add a fifth factual point, so I’ll do it for you.
5. Iran’s government routinely jails and murders political opponents, and makes no apology for it. The same way the Red Chinese did to their “counter-revolutionaries”.
Touting the other four points you mention as something positive is totally irrelevant to the subject, and serves no real purpose other than to illustrate that you can Google worthless data about any country you wish. Gee, Iran = Persia? Guess what? There is no Persia, and they call themselves Iran, not Persia. Mentioning the physical size of it is also useless, and signifies nothing or relevance except perhaps to cartographers. Whether or not Iran was a “founding member” of the UN is also irrelevant. The former USSR was also a founding member, of an original group of five, and has quite a history of murdering political opponents on a large scale, just like Iran. The civilization that it was home to is long gone, and has been replaced by a theocracy, which is about as far from civilization as you can get, at least in the modern context.
The last I knew, nobody who alleged voter fraud any time recently in this country was murdered by the government. They may have been mocked and disrespected by some, and perhaps challenged in the courts, but I didn’t see any of them in the news videos bleeding to death on the street after being shot by a government sniper.
So I guess my question is “What’s your point?”. To paint a laudatory and sympathetic picture of one of the most rogue regimes in the world? To simply dispute what I wrote for trolling purposes? Or are you actually a paid agent of Iran, which is what your post reads like? Talk about spoonfed! You parrot their party line like every government witness in the old Soviet show trials did, and I question your motives. You display obvious anti-American and anti-Israel sentiments, which is probably what your real agenda is, but I’m not going to let your pointless prattling go without reply. That’s all I’ll have to say on this matter. Have a nice day.
Re: Re: Re: Shouldn't you register as a foreign lobbyist before spewing your apologia for Iran?
“Taken at face value, your response lauding Iran as a model for other nations to aspire to is so laughably ludicrous that I should wonder if you’re being sarcastic yourself.”
Sigh, where did I point to Iran as any kind of a role model? I did not….
“5. Iran’s government routinely jails and murders political opponents, and makes no apology for it. The same way the Red Chinese did to their “counter-revolutionaries”.”
The same way Democratic Nat’l Convention was attacked in Chicago, the same way civil rights activists were brutally incarcerated, murdered, and spied upon by the FBI, the same way the FBI at the very least allowed if not participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination, the same way that revolutionary politicians have been assassinated or attacked covertly by their very government (JFK, RFK, etc.), Japanese internment camps, Muhammed Ali being sentenced to 5 years in prison, The Kent State Shootings, The Chicago Moratorium, The Anarchist Exclusion Act, The Bonus Army shootings, the entire COINTELPRO FBI operation, The House Un-American Activities Committee and Joseph McCarthy, The Palmer Raids, and the Smith Act.
So in other words, nice try, but no cigar….
“Touting the other four points you mention as something positive is totally irrelevant to the subject, and serves no real purpose other than to illustrate that you can Google worthless data about any country you wish.”
I was merely trying to give you some geopolitical background after your incredibly dismissive and ignorant post in the hopes that you might soften your words to something resembeling cognitive thought. My bad….
“There is no Persia, and they call themselves Iran, not Persia.”
Actually, they refer to themselves as both, Captain Ignorant. They are considered interchangeable by Iranians….
“Whether or not Iran was a “founding member” of the UN is also irrelevant.”
They’re a historically significant world player. You dismissed them. So no, not irrelevant….
“The former USSR was also a founding member, of an original group of five, and has quite a history of murdering political opponents on a large scale, just like Iran.”
True, but meaningless. I never said Iran was a wonderful society that was all kittens and puppy dogs. I merely said it wasn’t the cesspool you claimed it to be….
“The civilization that it was home to is long gone….”
Uh, no it isn’t. Same civilization, different politics. That’s like saying the English civilization is gone because they changed from a monarchy to a parlimentary system….
“….and has been replaced by a theocracy, which is about as far from civilization as you can get, at least in the modern context.”
What in the world are you TALKING about? I’m about as far from an advocate for religion as anyone, but there have certainly been civilized theocracies throughout history. To name a few: Unified Tibet under the Fifth Dalai Lama, John Calvin’s Geneva, and arguably the State of Israel.
“The last I knew, nobody who alleged voter fraud any time recently in this country was murdered by the government.”
Martin Luther King Jr. applies here too….
“To paint a laudatory and sympathetic picture of one of the most rogue regimes in the world?”
Oh come on, they aren’t even CLOSE to the most rogue regimes throughout the world. You’d have to go through half of Africa before you even came close, not to mention several Asian nations. Look, they aren’t ideal, and frankly I would prefer American style democracy over their government any day of the week. But let’s not pretend Iran is a meaningless sandbox, that’s all I was saying.
“To simply dispute what I wrote for trolling purposes?”
I like facts and hate ignorance. Guess why I replied to your post?
“Or are you actually a paid agent of Iran…”
Snicker….
“You display obvious anti-American….”
Yeah, I’ve defended America on this site in the past, so try again….
“…and anti-Israel sentiments”
When did I say anything against Israel? I’m not particularly high on the notion that we displaced people and plopped a bunch of Europeans in the middle of Arabian and Persian lands, but I’m certainly not an antisemite….
“Have a nice day.”
Shalom, fucktard….
I don’t like the Country or their ways, but who would blame them for trying to avoid their “president” to became another Mosaddegh?
Not that I condone that system, but it is REALLY impossible to fight off some imperialist influence (read corruption of every single level of society) if not in a dictatorial regime.
Why do you think Venezuela, Iran, NKorea are all dictatorial? And why does the US officials bash so hard these countries?
A lot of questions, some answers:
Cuz they are dictatorial non-democracies? No. Because they can’t influence them? Yes.
In China, if you do something wrong, you might get a bullet in the back of your head. In Africa there are millions of people dieing of disease and hunger. Why can’t we help THESE people, instead of trying to democratizing these dictatorial nations?
Please, cut the crap! Wake the hell up. This is not some B movie. Watching CNN and start yelling Iran is the devil is not the solution. It is just DUMB. America is not what it appears to be, most of americans know this in their hearts and many know for a fact.
I find it ironic that a stone-age religion based government wants to use technology that they would prefer to ban from the populace… in furtherance of a religion that would prefer to ban all technology! The idea being if if wasn’t around during muhommed’s day, it’s not needed or wanted.
It’s bloody past time to ban religion.
you will be charged as a criminal consistent with the Islamic Punishment Act
I love pointing this kind of thing out to the hardcore Christians who want “Christian values” as part of our laws and can’t understand why some of us are so hostile to ANY religious involvement in government.
Twitter Campaign and Iran
We need your input and help. I saw the post about the twitter campaign and I had to comment and ask for feedback.
We are a grass roots organization that has been working at achieving democracy & human rights in Iran since 2001. Our goals have been either to reform the system/constitution or remove the regime and establish a democratic system based on the following values:
http://iran115.org/manifesto
We wrote a draft constitution that we want the citizens of Iran to work on and continue to develop:
http://iran115.org/constitution
We were slammed out of left field by a strange twitter political operation beginning just after the Iran election crisis. It was very disappointing and alarming. I believe the twitter campaign was organized by an alliance between Reza Pahlavi and the MKO. It may have the blessing or passive support of the CIA or MI6? but I just don?t want to believe that is true. These people have been engaging in some very ruthless, unethical, and dishonest behavior. It is one of the weirdest stories I have ever walked into in my life. It involves a group called anonymous who apparently originally was created to fight the Church of Scientology. http://Whyweprotest.net
Then they created: http://iran.whyweprotest.net
It involves several twitter characters known as Austin Heap, Oxfordgirl, Tehranweekly, ThinkIran, and many other twitter profiles.
My twitter ID is iran115. What has happened over the last year is something that I never in my life could have expected. It has been disappointing, frustrating, and extremely confusing. It has been confusing because we thought that we were on the same side. For some reason, this group viewed our work as some sort of threat to their activities and decided to attack our credibility and efforts inside Iran. The silver lining to these events is that our eyes were opened to several weird things happening in and around the green movement.
One strange problem has been a character out of England claiming to be involved in organizing protests inside Iran. And she is not even Iranian. Her name is Oxfordgirl. Another claims to be providing unfiltered internet access by hiding traffic inside Iranian government traffic. This guy Austin Heap has been asking for donations and USB thumb drives since last summer. To date, not one person in Iran has used this ?system? to get unfiltered internet access. I challenge anybody here to find one person who has used haystack network in Iran. Despite this fact, it seems Austin Heap has become the Darling of western media. From everything we can gather, he is some sort of strange scam. Or something controlled by a political group who most certainly can?t be trusted.
Another strange character on twitter was PersianKiwi. Read about this one. Read his tweets and just tell me if they look like a real person or not! It appears that PersianKiwi was a sock puppet. Sock puppet? Yes? a fake person created by this same strange twitter group/mob.
http://twitter.com/persiankiwi
How did we get tangled up with them? Because they claimed that we have no influence, we were a scam, regime agents, basiji, and our constitution was a waste of time. They dedicated 22 pages of text to trying to destroy iran115 on twitter.
If anybody can help me understand this group and twitter problem any further, please feel free to call me at 202-509-0933. I would be happy to be proven wrong. They have called me in the middle of the night threatening my life. They urge me to commit suicide. They tell me my life has no meaning. They just don?t stop lying and falsifying facts.
They sit on twitter talking about eminent executions and begging for money to stop the execution. It seems a couple of prominent Iranian American attorneys are somehow involved. It is a very sickening situation which makes me understand on some level what the regime thinks.
If you ask me, they are all rotten! Both sides have blood on their hands. There is no black and white here. More like murky shades of gray.
Please read about Operation Blacklist and help us get to the bottom of the situation.
http://iran115.org/blacklist
Jamshid
Email: Azadi@iran115.org
Iran115 is a paranoid blind ignorant bastard that only wants your money so he can sit and dream of ideas to make more money. Just look at his constant retoric and you’ll see he has nothing to say. everyone in the world is out to GET HIM. HE could care less about the people IN IRAN. It’s all about what he can get.
What a lunatic
I’ve seen iran115 post comments on a few sites now, total whack job
American Exceptionalism
Boy, don’t you wish that when slavery and segregation was legal in America, that France would have come in and given support to the American people to “overthrow” their government? On the same token, don’t you think that due to the fact that America has historically up to this very day used its police force to crack down on protesters, we should label America a police state, and thus call for the overthrow of the American police state? Don’t you think that when America bans the broadcast of Al-Manar, the government is one of censorship, because after all, Hezbollah is considered by many in the world as a legitimate resistance group. Dont you think that Russian intelligence had the right to operate in the USA? Don’t you think the American defamation of communism was an indication of the weakness of the capitalist American system? Dont you think that whenever someone is caught crosssing the border illegally (as hikers or not) into America, they shouldnt be arrested, but rather given support by the government? through Should I continue?
American exceptionalism!
So don’t you think world issues are a little more complicated than most are lead to believe?
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