Leaked Audio File: State Radio Manager Demands Censorship of Price Hike News
A leaked audio file from the director of Iran’s Islamic Republic’s state radio and television network shows that he warned journalists at the network about publishing news related to price increases and demanded censorship of such reports.
Ali Reza Habibi, in this audio file which he distributed in his managers’ group and was subsequently shared on social media, ordered that no content criticizing Ibrahim Raisi’s government be published, and that none of the presenters have the right to even read critical pieces against the government from newspapers.
He also issued orders for strict control and censorship of produced content and public messages due to “the security situation prevailing in the country regarding price increases.”
Mr. Habibi warns journalists in this audio file, particularly presenters, that “do not enter into criticizing the government because it leads to saying the system is weak. The smallest mistake is unforgivable and this issue is viewed from a security perspective.”
The radio director asked his colleagues to increase monitoring of news publishing given recent protests and price increases: “Any mistake in this regard is inexcusable.”
In recent days, with the escalation of bread, flour, and pasta prices, protests have begun in the southern part of the country, particularly in Khuzestan. The Islamic Republic of Iran government has responded to these protests by cutting off internet in Khuzestan province and suppressing protesters.
Mr. Habibi states in this audio file that the IRIB deputy “will by no means back down from now on, and I won’t either. Be extremely careful and keep your wits about you… Right now is not the time to criticize the government, until the water runs out of the mill.”
The influence of the Islamic Republic’s radio and television networks, whose director-general is appointed by the Supreme Leader, has sharply declined over the past decade. Nevertheless, IRIB takes no steps to improve its situation and merely propagates the official policies of the Islamic Republic government.
According to a poll released by the Iranian Student Polling Center (ISPA) in September of last year, the percentage of audiences following news from IRIB dropped from 57.7 percent to 42.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the percentage of people following news through cyberspace has increased from 26.1 percent to 41.4 percent.
ISPA is affiliated with the Islamic Azad University and did not include foreign media outlets in its poll. However, Iranian authorities have over recent years, given the role of these media outlets in publishing uncensored news, resorted to every measure to disrupt their activities and intimidate journalists and their families.
Reporters Without Borders in its latest annual report on media freedom in 2022 ranked Iran 178th out of 180 countries worldwide. Alongside Iran at the bottom of the list are North Korea and Eritrea.
China is also ranked two positions higher than Iran at 175th place.
Source: Radio Farda
