Social Media Could Be Iran’s Lifeline

Author: Ioana Podarita

January 14, 2026

Demonstrators carry a large photo of Mahsa Amini during a protest against the Iranian regime, in Los Angeles in October 2022. [Image credit: Richard Vogel/AP]

On January 8th, three weeks into nationwide protests, Iranian authorities shut down the internet. With a reported death toll surpassing 500 victims (according to a US human rights group), cutting off Iranian protesters from the rest of the world could have catastrophic consequences. The past decade shows that social media radically changed how protests emerge and grow into movements, with the internet aiding in mobilization efforts, attracting large sympathetic audiences, counteracting rumors, and even pressuring legislative bodies (see Digital Protests section). 

The internet blackout in Iran is the government’s attempt to contain the movement, punish the protesters, and isolate them from each other and the international community in order to conceal human rights violations, in a dangerous act of “digital repression.” In the era of digital protests, cutting off access to technology becomes a new way for authorities to police dissent and silence citizens. 

What can we do? One of the biggest benefits of digital activism is its “transnational” power, connecting local activists with international ones and creating global impact. While digital activism has been mocked and sometimes deemed as frivolous, global citizens can help through sharing content by Iranian activists and groups, amplifying their voices during this moment of forceful silence and globalizing their message. International bodies such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court have a responsibility to investigate and intervene in human rights violations. Global digital protests can be implemented similarly to national in-person demonstrations in order to pressure these institutions and demand international support for Iranian protesters. 

In all cases of crimes against humanity, when a government has failed to protect its own citizens, the international community has a responsibility to advocate for the citizens, or, if absolutely needed, to intervene, as per the UN’s Responsibility To Protect norm. Digital activists from all over the globe have a right to demand accountability from the UN and other international bodies and bring grave human rights violations to their attention. Increasing global visibility of the ongoing protests will also hopefully deter authorities from further harming the protesters. 

To have the most up-to-date information on the rapidly escalating Iranian demonstrations, HRRC recommends following Iran-focused media groups such as Zamaneh Media and Iran Wire.  

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Glossary

• Accountability: The fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility.

• Civil disobedience: The refusal to comply with certain laws considered unjust, as a peaceful form of political protest.

• Commemorative: Acting as a memorial of an event or person.

• Compulsory: Required by law or a rule.

• Crackdown: A series of severe measures to restrict undesirable or illegal people or behaviour.

• Crimes against humanity: Severe atrocities, like murder, torture, enslavement, or widespread rape, committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population, during war or peacetime, and are prosecuted by international courts like the ICC even when national courts can't.

• Custody: Being under the control and restraint of law enforcement, essentially arrested and held by police, often in a jail or station.

• Dissent: Disagreement with government policies, a political party, or popular beliefs.

• Frivolous: Not having any serious purpose or value.

• Grave: Very serious, important, and worrying, often suggesting danger, solemnity, or deep concern.

• Hijab: A headscarf worn by many Muslim women, symbolizing modesty, faith, and devotion to God.

• IAEA: The IAEA, or International Atomic Energy Agency, is the UN's global center for nuclear cooperation, working to promote the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear science and technology.

• Intensify: Become or make more intense.

• Intervene: Take part in something so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events.

• Kerman bombings: On 3 January 2024, a commemorative ceremony marking the assassination of Qasem Soleimani at his grave in eastern Kerman, Iran, was attacked by two bomb explosions.

• Mobilization: In protests, mobilization is the process of turning potential supporters into active participants, gathering people for collective action to achieve shared goals like influencing policy or challenging the status quo.

• Mocked: Tease or laugh at.

• Morality police: Official or unofficial groups tasked with enforcing a specific code of public behavior, often based on religious or strict cultural values, by monitoring and punishing perceived violations like inappropriate dress, public affection, or lifestyle choices, commonly seen in countries like Iran.

• Nuclear program: A national initiative involving the development, management, and application of nuclear technology.

• Rumors: Unofficial stories or pieces of information, often unverified and potentially untrue.

• Sanctions: A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.

• Transnational: Emphasizes connections that go beyond or through state borders, creating networks that blur national distinctions and operate on a different scale.

• UN norm: Widely accepted principles or standards of responsible state behavior and conduct within the international community, developed through UN processes.

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References

1. Christou, W. (2026). Iran plunged into internet blackout as protests over economy spread 

2. nationwide. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/08/iran-plunged-into-internet-blackout-as-protests-over-economy-spread-nationwide 

3. Earl, J. (2022). The digital repression of social movements, protest, and activism: A synthetic 

4. review. Science Advances.

5. Hafezi, P., Ayyub, R., & Lubell, M. (2026). Deaths from Iran protests reach more than 500, 

6. rights group says. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/confronting-protests-iran-vows-strike-back-if-us-attacks-2026-01-11/ 

7. Human Rights Research Center. (2025). Protests and legislative reform: An empirical approach 

8. to Tilly’s “WUNC” framework. HRRC. https://www.humanrightsresearch.org/post/protests-and-legislative-reform-an-empirical-approach-to-tilly-s-wunc-framework 

9. Sorce, G. & Dumitrica, D. (2022). Transnational dimensions in digital activism and protest, 

10. Review of Communication, 22:3, 157-174, DOI: 10.1080/15358593.2022.2107877