Cartoon by Mana Neyestani

Raisi hit by Instagram backlash

Middle East Eye: A blue tick appeared on President Ebrahim Raisi's official Instagram account last week even after his government curbed access to Instagram and WhatsApp in the wake of anti-government protests, provoking accusations of hypocrisy.

The Arman Meli daily accused Raisi and his government of double standards in banning social networks for ordinary Iranians but using the same platforms themselves.

"Since the presidential election [in 2021] until now, Ebrahim Raisi has shown contradictory comments and actions regarding the internet," wrote the daily.

"During the election campaigns, he was insisting that his rivals spread false news about his plans to add more restrictions on the internet to make the voters scared of him - but in November, he said that the restrictions his government imposed were in response to the enemies' attempt to disrupt security in the country."

The daily also made a list of ministers and high-ranking politicians in Raisi's government who used Twitter, the social media platform officially banned in Iran since the 2009 Green Movement protests.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, Oil Minister Javad Owji, Cultural Heritage Minister Ezatollah Zarghami and Deputy President Mohammad Jamshidi are among high-ranking politicians who have an active presence on Twitter.

Many Iranian dissidents have faced harsh punishments for their posts on Twitter and Instagram.