A battle is being fought on two fronts in Iran. The first is that of the streets, where from 28 December to 11 January more than 3,000 people were killed in protests against the regime. It is already a devastating number, and yet it does not tell the full extent of the tragedy: for over a hundred hours the Internet has been almost completely blacked out, making any independent verification impossible. The repression takes place in the dark, and what arrives outside the country is only a fraction of the reality.

But while the regime strikes with weapons, gas and mass arrests, it also moves on a second front: that of information manipulation. In recent days, some Western media have reported that Iranian protesters are calling for a return to the Pahlavi monarchy. It is a false narrative, and above all useful to those who want to distort the meaning of the revolt.

The pro-Pahlavi slogans

Evidence gathered from citizens, activists and analysts shows a very different picture. Plainclothes Pasdaran agents infiltrated the demonstrations with the specific aim of staging pro-Pahlavi slogans and recording videos to be disseminated online. In many cases the audio was artificially layered, out of sync, too clean to be real. A short film, which should be viewed by anyone who deals with information, documents these manipulations.

The illusion of a monarchist revolt

It is in this context that some satellite channels have amplified manipulated or unverified content, contributing to building the artificial illusion of a monarchist revolt. But just listen to the real choirs in the squares to understand that the narrative is a deception. The voices that dominate the streets shout “Death to the dictator”, “Death to Khamenei”, “Neither Shah nor Supreme Leader”. It is an unequivocal political statement: the Iranian people reject all forms of authoritarianism, past and present. To make everything even more alarming is the fact that the political platform presented by Reza Pahlavi in ​​2025 has nothing democratic about it. His “transition” project concentrates all powers – executive, legislative and judicial – in a single figure, without elections, without separation of powers, with martial law foreseen in numerous cities and the maintenance of current repressive structures. The name at the top would change, not the nature of the system.

At a time when the Iranian people risk their lives every day against a violent and unpopular regime, fabricating a false alternative means betraying the revolution. Iranians are not dying to go back, nor to replace one dictatorship with another. Their request is clear: a democratic, secular, modern republic founded on popular sovereignty.

Disinformation is repression

And this is where the responsibility of the international media comes into play. Disinformation is part of the repression. Every unverified video, every slogan taken as authentic without checks, every report based on opaque sources can become a weapon against the Iranian people. Today the truth is not just a right. It’s a form of protection. It’s a form of resistance.

The duty is simple and non-negotiable: verify, contextualize, listen, and above all not give in to propaganda operations – neither of the regime, nor of those who try to reinvent themselves as an alternative without having neither roots nor legitimacy.

The history of Iran does not belong to the impostors of the past. It belongs to the authentic voice of a people demanding freedom.

* Iranian activist and creator, she is a member of the Young Iranians, a group that has been carrying out information and support activities for Iranian civil society for years