New Propaganda Piece Hits Iranian Airwaves

In the mid 1990s and around the time when the former and more moderate Iranian president Khatami was elected to office, the reform movement began to gain real momentum. In the new millennium and in light of incredible advancements in technology from global satellite TVs to internet and blogs, the Iranian regime has found itself searching for ways to discredit any genuine movement for democracy by relying on expectedly absurd conspiracy theories to link any opposition to the American government.

One of the tools that the regime has been increasingly using to counter dangers to their theocratic rule is short propaganda pieces on the state-run TV. The following piece hit the airwaves a few days ago, which features John McCain, George Soros and Gene Sharp.

Before thinking about what to take from the tape, it's important to make a number of important observations about the way the Iranian regime works. The government understands that it faces a number of challenges to its rule from a number of very different sources. On the one front, it has to deal with the United States' 75-million-dollar-a-year stated effort to overthrow the regime. On another front, they are worried about the philanthropic work of influential figures such as George Soros who attempt to shape public policy and promote democratic governance and human rights and help to create legal and social reforms around the world.

But perhaps the most important leg of the tripod on which Iran's fears rest is the growing internal intolerance of Iranians in the face of high prices and unemployment rates, major curbs on civil liberties and human rights under Ahmadinejad and the country's increasing isolation in the world. The youth under 30 who make up 70% of the Iranian population have found their long-held outrage toward their living conditions fueled by their newly expanded perspective on how people of their age live in the free world through the widespread use of (illegal) TV satellites and blogs.

This new video attempts to attack the three legs of the tripod at once by stating a number of outright lies about the individuals named in the video and wrongly connecting their rather separate efforts as part of a single grand plan. As you probably noticed, the narrator in the video introduces John McCain as "a senior White House official who orchestrates numerous conspiracies against the Islamic Republic of Iran," which is obviously a lie; John McCain is an elected senator from Arizona. George Soros is introduced as "A Jewish tycoon and the mastermind of ultra-modern colonialism" who uses his wealth to bring "supporters of America" to power under the slogan of democracy and human rights." Again, as explained above, Soros makes no such attempts. George Soros is a philanthropist and one who has time and again has taken stances on various issues -- especially on Middle East matters -- that have been at odds with the U.S. government.

But what is most disturbing is the narrator's shot at Gene Sharp as "one of the CIA agents in charge of America's infiltration into other countries." Gene Sharp has been the target of attacks from other governments, including that of Hugo Chavez a few months back. The claims made in this video are of course unfounded lies. Gene Sharp is one of the most prominent intellectuals in the field of nonviolent action and neither him nor Albert Einstein Institution, which he founded over 20 years ago are a part of collaborative efforts with the U.S. government as the video indicates. Sharp does not even accept funds from the U.S. government for any of his efforts to educate people from around the world about the history and tactics of nonviolent action.

But if the first aspect of the video has to do with the narrator's utter distortions, the second aspect has to do with the intended goal of the video. As shown, the figures in the video have no close links to each other in reality. But they all have something in common: they have all contributed in some way to making the regime feel un-secure. By linking the figures in this video to each other, the regime is justifying its crack down on internal reformers and student activists.

The figures in this tape do not represent mere three individuals; they are rather precisely chosen to symbolize the three main sources of the regime's fears and send a warning to people who may be involved in any of such efforts. McCain is to represent the American government, Soros is chosen and identified as a "Zionist" to represent both Israel and philanthropic NGOs and Gene Sharpe is selected to symbolize any protests, demonstrations, strikes, boycotts or any other nonviolent tactic. The three individuals are then linked together and to the CIA to frame them all as part of a grand international conspiracy against Iran.

The last part of the video has the goals of defending Iran's nuclear program and encourage people to snitch on their families if they suspect that the family member is engaged in any kind of activism. The video shows three individuals, clean-cut and shaven and one with long hair -- which are both signs of questionable character in Iranian propaganda -- planning some sort of mission. One of the guys explains that they're going to use Satellite TV to communicate "instructions" with people. The statement is designed to help justify government's late night incursions to confiscate satellite TVs and all electronics as punishment. Another one of the men mentions a promise for permanent visas made to them by America as payment for their mission. The family member of one of the men finds out about this vague mission which apparently involves a gun (which Gene Sharp would certainly not recommend using in any nonviolent movement). She calls the three-digit Intelligence Ministry hotline number to snitch on him, and the result is that as the young man is forced to cooperate and the intelligence official rewards him by making a promise that he will tell the judge to take it easy on him.

We cannot know how much impact such a piece has on the public sentiments although the most likely answer is not much. The people are too preoccupied with not having enough money to make ends meet to worry about Gene Sharp or George Soros. The vast majority of the people who don't have satellite TVs or internet don't have it because they can't afford it, not because the regime tells them not to buy them. Nonetheless, the regime has been more terrified in recent years than in any other time in its short history. This fear has been reflecting in the form of such propaganda pieces that distort facts, encourage distrust in families, make allegations about the United States' involvement with rogue individuals in the regime, all with the ultimate goal of sending a warning to people about the range of activities that the regime considers off limit and justifying crackdown on NGOs and democracy activists.

Comments

[research]

Yeah, typical paranoid government propaganda, but very similar to BushCo propaganda output against Iran and Al Quida. Aren't Americans supposed to report any suspected activity? Don't we get the FACTS WRONG in our propaganda against Iran?

The characters may be non-factual, but the truth is WE have overthrown governments and continue to do so. We DID overthrow the democratic government of Iran. their fears are completely justified.

So this seems like part of BushCo push for

WAR WITH IRAN.

Impeach NOW before they invade again.

[BOfever]

John McCain can speak persian?

I guess you learn something new every single day.

[altohone]

Thanks Sam.

I would guess that the propoganda will backfire.

By using the names of "the enemy", they give Iranians the info they need to expose their lies. I mean, it seems even limited access to Google will let the truth out... and the regime just provided the search words.

A more general and vague approach would have been more effective since the regime doesn't have China-like control over modern media... but I'll stop giving them advice.

[tea in the harbor]

This piece poses many questions. Obviously, the film is an abhorrent example of propaganda, it includes lies and distortions of the worst kind, and the conspiracy to which they allude is pure fiction. McCain is a legitimate war hero, he will never get my vote, but my respect for his service is a different matter. Soros and Sharp I know less about, but I do not doubt that the author is better informed. If we look, however, at the grievances this piece of crap addresses, high prices, unemployment, curtailed civil liberties, and lowered standing on the world stage, We the People have common ground with it's intended targets. It is also, unfortunately, the case that our politicians,(Both sides) will warp and misrepresent the truth to gain advantage. We will also, if CBS is to be believed, jail our philosophical rivals. My point, at long last, is that before we go on a global self-righteous rampage to bring light and freedom to the world, we might want to examine that light and clean our own closets.The best leadership is, and always will be, by example!

[oldpotsmuggler]

I have a couple of questions: (1) Do the actions of the Bush regime actually make it easier for the current Iranian government to consolidate its position? and (2) If A President Obama were to make an attempt to meet with Ahmedinejad, would the Iranian people even be allowed to know that the invitation had been extended?

[MajorKong]

"Do the actions of the Bush regime actually make it easier for the current Iranian government to consolidate its position?"

Pure speculation here but I think it probably does to some extent. Just like Castro was able to blame all of his failures on the US embargo.