Iran's internet blackout leaves public in dark and creates an uneven picture of the war with Israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: As the war between Israel and Iran hits the one-week mark, Iranians have spent nearly half of the conflict in a near-communication blackout, unable to connect not only with the outside world but also with their neighbors and loved ones across the country.
Civilians are left unaware of when and where Israel will strike next, despite Israeli forces issuing warnings through their Persian-language online channels. When the missiles land, disconnected phone and web services mean not knowing for hours or days if their family or friends are among the victims. That's left many scrambling on various social media apps to see what's happening — again, only a glimpse of life able to reach the internet in a nation of over 80 million people.
Activists see it as a form of psychological warfare for a nation all-too familiar with state information controls and targeted internet shutdowns during protests and unrest.
'The Iranian regime controls the information sphere really, really tightly,' Marwa Fatafta, the Berlin-based policy and advocacy director for digital rights group Access Now, said in an interview with The Associated Press. 'We know why the Iranian regime shuts down. It wants to control information. So their goal is quite clear.'
War with Israel tightens information space
But this time, it's happening during a deadly conflict that erupted on June 13 with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based group called Human Rights Activists.
Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli military estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds others wounded. Guidance from Israeli authorities, as well as round-the-clock news broadcasts, flows freely and consistently to Israeli citizens, creating in the last seven days an uneven picture of the death and destruction brought by the war.
The Iranian government contended Friday that it was Israel who was 'waging a war on truth and human conscience.' In a post on X, a social media platform blocked for many of its citizens, Iran's Foreign Ministry asserted Israel banned foreign media from covering missile strikes.
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