Facebook and Election Campagin in Iran, Greens vs Blues!

Shohreh, a 23 years female art student in Tehran, began her day near noon with Facebook.

Sitting on the suffa, drinking her coffe and checking links, notes, status, photos, videos and comments on Facebook, but at Saturday 23th May, when she went to the usual page, found a message from Islamic Republic’s Communication minstry that Facebook is filterd in the country.
The message make her upset, that means she may lose all her online communication and friends, events and changes, but this was not really a big shock!
Everybody knew soon or later FB will be filterd again. We found that FB is not anymore filtred in Iran in last February while sudenlly got a lot of friend requests fro Iran.

Facebook itself condomed the filtering and called it shameful and even some of close adminstrations of Mossavi seeing it as a another pressure to cut accessing the information about Mossavi’s platforms, Yesterday even Kahrobi condomed it.
On Wedensday Mahmod Ahamadinejad stressed during a press-conference that he is not ordering the filtering of it. Following the confrence, facebook users in Iran found it open again.

Ahmadinejad also said: "I believe in maximum freedom of expression."
Many Iranians recently joined Facebook as a way of communicating and during election-time since it is an interactive media that allows involvement in politics whilst all other medias inside the country are under the harsh censorship.

However,It has been said at the first timeFB could help inteligence agents in Iran gathering information about journalists, deisenters, human rights activists, bloggers and women movment.
They even hacked my FB and Gmail and accessed some information about my projects. They also made a similar ID with my name added my friends or political activists on FB and asked some information, when I noticed report the fake ID to FB and they delet it.
Maybe at least they got valuable information about subjected people, like recent photos, recent conections and their planes, trips and even adresses and telephon numbers.

Since last month Iranian community on FB devided in two huge groups, pro-reformists (Greens) and pro-bycott (Blues).

Many groups and notes has published on defence of each approach, in one, pro-reformists blaming pro-bycott for Ahamadinejad’s victory in last election, in that election he got more than 17 million votes,however that election faced with the vaste bycotte movement and about 41% didn’t participate in second round of it.
But in the other one the debate is more hot, many people beliving participating in election means vote to Islamic Republic which has less legitmacy nowadays in public opinion.

When Mir Hossein Mossavi’s fans colored their profiles photos in green as a color of his election campagin, the deisenters also colored their profile photos in blue, then two big groups of Iranians in Facebook facing each other many online friends removed from each others list and arguments replaced with accusation and anger.

The Greens acctualy started the huge attack aginst bycooting supporters to make them passive, the kind of propaganda against the Blues, brought waves of critics, specialy when pro-Mosavi used a popular radical leftist’s song in their Youtube clip.

The song was belonged to the most popular leftist group called Fedaeian Guerilla fighted agianst Shah Regime, “Aftabkaran e Jangal” (The Sun seeders in Jungell) is a populae song still singing in Iran as a leftists solgan, but suddenly stolen by pro-Mossavi’s and broght a deep anger reaction on FB.

Mossavi, himself is accused as the one of main persons who leads the supression of political oppssitions and mass killing of political prisoners in 1980’s.

As the conforting between two wings in FB is climaxing, it is obvious pro Mehdi Kahrobi’s are in the minority and pro Ahmadinejad (Red) are a few.
In my Iranian list, I have about 30% Blue, 45% Green, 10% pro Kahrobi and 15% wanderers or not intersted to politics one.
From last week, pro Kahrobi’s who are using White seems being increased on FB, while pro Mossavi’s are getting more quite comparing the past week.

One of the most intersting debates on FB happened when I invited Ebrahim Nabavi my famouse coullegue who supporting Mossavi for the first online debate on Iran’s election on Facebook, about 200 people participated in the debate while they need to refresh the page can read each side respond.

But only my friends could read the text, so I put it on a blog and the blog got a number of 3500 visits at first night and 4400 at second night on Friday and suddenly both blog and FB has filterd in Iran on Sataurday, so the number of vistors decresed to about 550 vistors and only 20% of them were from Iran.

Iranians have a large number of FB users, one of FB PR’s told me they don’t have an exact data about countries detials, but some experts are estimating about 3.5% of Internet users in Iran participating FB from March till end of May, this should be about 700,000. Iran has about 20 millions internt users, one of the most accesses in the Middel East and at the same time one of the most restricted countries in the world for censoring the internt.

Shohreh, who told me last night spending less minutes to access FB than yesterday because of new proxy, finding many ways in her mail box and even wall to reach the FB, one of this helping message is from me, recomonding Firefox adds one for anti-blocking FB.
She still not decided wheather she wants to vote for reformists or want to bycote the election like last term, but following arguments and links on FB, communicating with people about current events and share her ideas on FB.

All togeather she wants have fun, she told me she just found her beloved high school clasemate in LA and just “meeted” a few intersting guys.
While we are aproaching the election time in less than 3 weeks, Greens and Blues countinung their competition to collect more supporters.

However for Shohreh and many young people like her Facebook is a part of their private life in social network, sharing hidden interstes with others, like other illigal things in Iran you can find in many houses, new Hollywood movies, Satelite TV and underground music.

Shohreh is now going to sleep, saying goodbye to me on chat while I am reciving many chat texts from different type of people from a peoet girl in Tehran to a leader of an opposite group, but she really happy can access FB tomorrow as usual tomorrow noon again, while she was online for about 18 hours, she said tomorrow she will post on FB her point of view about Ahamdinejad’s election speech on state TV.


Photo Credits:
1+4: Samar
2 : Behanm Sahvi
-------------------------------------

France 24 Observers' Version

26/05/2009 / IRAN
Facebook ban lifted: “the only place where we can talk about politics”

No wonder the authorities wanted Facebook banned. But Iranian Facebook users are heaving a sigh of relief today after access to the site was reopened this morning. So what was all the fuss about? One of our Observers in Tehran explains the election debates raging on the online social network and why President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad probably isn't a big fan. Read more...
Contributors Shohreh.
» Français عربية

Obama asks Khamenei to Tango!

...

How IRI Iran reacts to Obama’s Norouz message

By Omid Habibinia - Media Researcher and Journalist

A few days before Norouz, (first day of spring, which is celebrated by Iranians as the New Year) rumors circulated that this time there would be a different message from the White House.

...

For the first time, a US president sent a video, rather than a written message, marking Norouz and addressed the people and leaders of the Iranian Islamic Republic together.
The message made some opposition groups angry, since the Iranian people were addressed equally with the Islamic Republic’s leaders.


On the other side, in Iran, everybody waited for a response from Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme (political and cleric) leader. When he talked about the message the day after, in Mashhad, he said in his speech: “We still couldn’t see any real change in US diplomacy toward Iran, if (the) US government continues its animosity with Iran, we would be the same (men) as (the) last 30 years.” This was interpreted as the official Islamic Republic’s response to Obama’s message.


In his messages, the US president asked for an ending to the animosity between the two countries and stated:

“My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.”

After the Islamic Republic’s leader gave his response, some of the regime’s leaders, including Rafsanjani (Iranian president from 1989 to 1997), also exhibited the same reaction asking for real change in US policy toward Iran, some of them such as Ahamadinejad insisted and repeated Khamanei’s opinion that they could see little if any change in US policy yet.



Since the White house called Obama’s message ‘just the beginning’ of new a diplomacy to insure Iran’s regime for real change, the new opportunity of direct talk came up.
When the US Foreign Office asked Iran to participate in the Afghanistan summit at The Hague, Iran actually sent its “B Team”. At the summit, the only direct talk between the two countries was greetings and the shaking of hands, which also came with different stories from both sides.

However, it seems due to a huge economic crisis in Iran, that the Islamic Republic’s leaders prefer to have more hidden economic talks with the US administration than direct talks that might form a relationship with the US.



Based on an Associated Press analysis, Iran was one of the highest benefitting customers of US exports in 2008. The two governments have no official direct relationship and in fact, Iran is still under US sanctions.

...


Please Read More in GER


GLOBAL ECONOMIST REVIEW (PDF) © VOL1. Issue 6, April 15 2009

Iran's New Internet Attacks on Dissenters

Omid Habibinia
February 25, 2009


In recent weeks, there has been a notable increase in Facebook "friend requests" from colleagues and friends in Iran. It seems that someone has decided to allow more Iranians access to the Web site, at last.

Facebook is one of the most popular online social networking venues among Iranians and it's estimated that over 200,000, mostly living abroad, are members.

Alexa.com, which collects Web traffic and ranking data, shows that a quiet but significant change took place among the usual top-ranked Web sites' weekly visits inside Iran. However, blog providers remain on top on the list — Blogfa, a free Persian Weblog service, claims to have more than 1,500,000 member blogs. Other providers, including Persian Blog, Mihan Blog, and Parsiblog are said to have an estimated 700,000 members, while roughly 300,000 Persian users frequent Wordpress, Blogger and Blogsky.

Iran is credited with having the third largest blogsphere after the United States and China, with 2.5 million blogs drawing approximately 5 million hits per day. It is estimated that Iranian bloggers tend to update their blogs on an average of at least once per week.

It is well known that the Iranian government has been filtering online political dissident and critical blogs for years. This has forced bloggers to search for other less conspicuous Web venues to exercise their right to express themselves freely. Until last month many such providers, like Blogger and Wordpress, were banned by most Internet providers in Iran.

The Islamic Republic is notorious not only for banning and filtering blogs, and the Internet generally, but also for inflicting heavy punishments on non-conformist bloggers, such as kidnapping, imprisonment, and torture. At the present time there are about 20 bloggers, including five women's rights activists, in jail where there are many stories of suspicious suicides and deaths.

A committee drawn from the Ministry of Intelligence, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the High Council of Cultural Revolution, and the ministries of Communication, and Islamic Guidance and Culture are responsible for the filtering and banning activity.

Reportedly, more than 5 million sites have been banned in Iran, including political, entertainment, scientific, adult, photography, sharing, and social networking venues.

The filtering has also affected some religious Shiite sites, based on some Fatwa content featuring Islamic guidance on sex and marriage. The committee's software is able to seek these words out, send the sites to a blacklist, and filter/ban them. Ironically, and on a slightly humorous note, the very same filtering system also banned content from some highly respected Ayatollahs who then cried, "Why have you filtered my Web site?"

However, since last month something has definitely changed. Some of the most popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Youtube, among others, are now slightly accessible, but not without severe repercussions for their use.

At the same time, a new and virulent wave of Internet attacks against many journalists and activists inside and outside of Iran has begun to emerge.

Last week, by chance, I noticed there is another Omid Habibinia on Facebook who has not only added my close friends and colleagues, but also my little sister. Strangely, the fake ID holder added a Swiss girl who I have spoken with and has contacted her several times to know if she can play in a docudrama about a Swiss girl who has an online friend from Iran.

I am also aware that fake ID holders have contacted other friends and asked some "strange questions."

Facebook makes an ideal platform for intelligence agents in Iran to infiltrate social networks, where they can hack information, locate events, addresses and monitor their subjects.



I have learned that my Gmail account has previously been accessed without my permission, and the persons responsible knew every contact, place and idea that I shared with others, including the re-launch of a well-known Web site that was put online about five years ago called Freedom of Expression (Azadi e Bayan). It was the first site to support Ahamad Batebi, who was kidnapped during his leave from jail after his meeting in Tehran with Ambeyi Ligabo, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' special rapporteur on freedom of expression in November 2003. The site also supported all journalists, artists, intellectuals and bloggers who were facing danger within the Islamic Republic.

Another kind of attack was recently perpetrated by "special hackers" against Balatarin, the Persian version of Digg.com.

The hackers stole the owners' IDs of this popular site, including a well-known news source in Iran. The information gleaned was used to try and hack into their bank accounts. At the same time, Balatarin was ordered to reformat their servers, making it more difficult to discover the identities of the hackers. This Web site draws more than 250,000 pageviews per day and is used as a source for following news, even among journalists.

During recent weeks, many Iranian journalists and prominent bloggers have claimed that their IDs were closed by Facebook, due to being reported for insulting or even pornographic content.

The same trick has also been used on other bloggers. Some, who use providers outside of Iran, are reported on by agents and requests are made to the blog providers for closure or to have a warning sign placed before a visitor can access the content. The complaint is that these blogs are an insult to religion or pornographically offensive. I know some bloggers who only post their usual poems on their blogs, which most of the time are neither blasphemies or erotic, but have still incurred an online warning message.

The same thing is happening on Youtube. Many demonstrations and protests in Iran are captured by mobile phones and shared on the video-sharing site. However, some of the videos have been removed because of the pressure placed on Youtube through the report of supposed insults. Some gaffs by Iranian leaders or by TV presenters are also sometimes removed by Youtube. It is clear when in a two-day period, 200 reports are received asking for the removal of certain videos, that site administrators might follow suit.



However, it seems obvious that most of these e-mails and reports came from a specific place in Tehran.

Non-conformist Iranian bloggers are now facing a new form tyranny from information and intelligence insiders on the Internet. It is hard to know who is who. I am not sure if Shirin is the Shirin who was a former colleague on TV, or if she is a fake. The strange thing is when I message her on Facebook I get the wrong answer or no answer. I always ask some personal questions about a given person's past to ascertain their true identity, but who knows if the hackers have access to background details and can correctly answer the questions?


In less than six months there is going to be another round of elections in Iran and it seems that this coordinated attack on journalists, bloggers and activists is being facilitated through Internet communication. It appears that the ultimate goals are to silence, threaten and send signals of monitoring and stolen information to infiltrate networks. Those in question have learned that they can use Facebook and Youtube for their propaganda as well.

While many concerned individuals with Facebook accounts are sifting through their newly-added friends list to find suspicious ones, the hidden war of censorship and anti-censorship continues inside Iran.

Omid Habibinia is an Iranian journalist who has worked for state radio and television organizations as a senior media researcher and producer.

Published in WORLD PRESS

Related:

Facebook Is Not Banned In IRAN Anymore;Spies Like It!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View the Worldpress Desk’s profile for Omid Habibinia.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Facebook Is Not Banned In IRAN Anymore;Spies Like It!

From Last week, I am receiving daily more than 20 new friend requests on FB, I don’t know most of them and at the same time heard about fake IDs.

This also happened to me, I notice by chance there is another Omid Habibina, he (they) even added my little sister on FB!

People sometime don’t attention why should accept another ID with the same name?

So they could access some information on FB including address, contacts, networks and monitoring them.

I asked FB immediately delete the fake ID and wrote on my statues bar "PLZ don’t add fakes, I am the only Real Omid Habibinia on FB!"

I also warned some of my friends who add fake ID ;that one is not me, plz delete it and report FB.

I also asked them to let me know about their contacts and learned he (they) asked some personal questions.

Really surprised when I got they added a Swiss girl whom I contacted with her for a film project,so... I guess they should have hacked my Gmail for a period of time.

This has been happening to many people since last months.

I believe there is a center in Tehran organized for such internet attacks.

However the Good news is: FB is not banned in Iran anymore and the Bad news is: They use it as a intelligence action!

So Plz be aware of Facebook Spies and Fake IDs!

PlZ invite me on time!

Last month I was invited to an intersting workshop on Iran's media at Annenberg School for Communication.

Since it was during the Christmas time I thought that I would not make it, first of all, I am Iranian and due to political reason it will take longer period than other citizens, second I feel uncomfortable with the way they might treat me at the US embassy, with their "strange questions", which looks like interrogation.

I recall another conference on Iran's media at university of Washington in 2006, which organizers showed deep interest in my paper since as usual I had presented recent data and personal survey in my work, and upon their invitation I approached US embassy for visa, where I encountered really annoying questions. I wondered, I am a political refugee and they can easily get access to my profile, so there is no need to undergo such "stupid questions".

Later I heard lots of stories of other Iranians on misbehavior and humility of finger printing, they have been through, and even my BBC colleagues who had official missions to Washington, but traveling with Iranian passport were not exempted for such unfriendly attitudes of US immigration board officers.

So this time, I simply gave up, there was no need to try the lessons learned again, perhaps there is no change in the US immigration board’s usual questions even if the White House got new tenant, promising for many changes!

Last week one of my ex-colleagues at the BBC informed me that he saw my name at the hotel reservation in Philadelphia, I replied that’s good news at least I could have gotten a room over there, even though I didn’t get the visa!

Surprisingly last week, I was also “promptly " invited to another panel in London at the same time which many of my colleagues will participate too. I informed them that I need a visa for UK too, hopefully this might be much easier, since I had notable work and travel history over there, and also there is no bitter memories of “stupid and strange questions" in my mind, but organizers excused themselves for assisting me for accommodation in London, promising that "next time", invitation will include accommodation for lecturers!

At this point , I wondered how they choose their panelists and how important is for them that Mr. Y comes instead of Mrs X?!

I highly appreciate if you arrange the formalities for your next conference in a more organized and timely manner, in case if you consider me to have a presentation on Persian media.

Thank you for your invitations BTW!

How New Year is beginning in Gaza?

Today more than 60 Isreali F-16 bombers attacked Gaza and officals annonced more than 200 ordinary people killed and about 700 others were wonded.

Isreal army claims these air stricks are responding to Hamas rocket attacks into Isreal, Gaza was blockade for several months and it seems in the eve of new year Israili warplanes fireing death upon inocent people living there, the people who are victims of both Islamists and Isreali militarism and sufforing for basic needs.

Hamas is not obeying the Mahmoud Abbas government and just cause more tension, reveals its power and deepening Islamic fundamentalism in the region and I think at the other side someone in Israel also need them!

I couldn’t find my Palestinian and Israeli Bloggers friends in the past days, but I am sure all of them are in deep shock and sadness, those of who in both side insist war just cause disgust and I am sure Gaza’s people under Islamic government are the real victims of both side.

Many Persian blogs wrote about this horrible situation in Gaza and some of them use Muslims Bloggers Banner in their blog, I am wondering how is possible to be leftist, atheist and against Islamic Republic and use their banner to support Gaza’s people?

As far as I know these 'Muslims bloggers' who dependent to some governmental organization are accusing to have the main rule to monitor, investigating and spying against the majority of Iranian bloggers who are secular, not supporting IR’s propaganda, or atheists, feminists and leftists.

I wrote once about Gaza in Zamaneh which was so popular, but I hope I don’t need to write more,… we are living with our hopes specially in the New Year 's time, so lets hope this painful long story will end soon!

Related Story: I am Gaza Citizen Too!

The Long story of my critic on BBC Persian !

After about 70 years in existence, the BBC Persian Service is
naturally a household name in Iran. In a move calculated to expand its
reach in the Islamic Republic, BBC Persian has ventured into
television. Launch is just weeks away.

Though satellite television is illegal in Iran, more than half its
urban dwellers have access to satellite television by some estimates.
Over the past few years, the number of Persian-language satellite
stations has continued to grow. At last count, there were about 50
stations, most of which are based in Los Angeles, home to the largest
Iranian expat community.

BBC Persian Television will be a much welcome addition. The quality of
Persian-language satellite programs are generally very poor. Still
they have a large audience in Iran because the younger generation
tunes in for Western music programs and to hear the latest Iranian pop
music that is illegal in Iran. Other than music, much of the political
or even social programming offered by these stations do not appear to
be taken very seriously by many people, especially the youth. Still,
from time to time, officials enforce the ban and take down people's
satellite dishes and haul the owners to court. Just as authorities
filter Websites—including the BBC's—they scramble programs and it will
be interesting to see how the BBC deals with that.





The launch of BBC Persian Television should have a major effect on the
state of television culture in Iran in general. In the absence of
independent television on the one hand, and amateur-level programming
from the stations abroad on the other, many will refer to the BBC for
news and other information. Because the bar is so low, the BBC will
not have to work hard to look good. But I hope the powers that be will
make use of their basket full of resources to put out a product that
will live up the BBC brand name. I hope they just don't attempt to get
by, because they know they can get away with it. As noted, they don't
have much competition, and not many outside of the BBC Persian Service
division speak Persian to gauge the quality of their programs.

The view from the outset isn't promising. Stories and rumors
circulating around for the past few months have called into question
its recruiting and hiring methods and decisions, the background and
experience of those they have chosen to fill the top TV posts, even
the neutrality of its politics. I certainly hope I am wrong in seeing
it that way and I hope that my own experience isn't a harbinger of
things to come.

I wrote a critique of a training video the BBC put out recently. It
was published on the Radio Zamaneh Website. I got quite an earful
about it. This article was the most-read on the site. There were more
than 100 hits just from the BBC alone. Among the 30 comments, and
emails to me, many came out in the defense of the organization that
signs their checks. I was criticized for making a judgment about the
quality of BBC TV so early on in the process, for being too harsh and
bitter in tone, and even accused of trying to settle a personal
vendetta...



Still I don't know how that can be the case. First of all, in order to
make sure I hadn't written anything that could be construed as
offensive to my former colleagues, I reviewed my final draft a few
times—to little avail apparently.

Secondly, I was writing about the technical aspects of a video—a training video at that.
Be it the latest Ridley Scott film, or a BBC video, I am a critic. That's what I
do. I have been writing about media and cinema for 18 years. There
were at least 11 obvious flaws in the short nine-minute span of this
clip. Given all their resources, I thought it fell short. One expects
a lot more from the BBC, one that sets out to train others in the
profession.

And this was just my point of view on the technical aspect of it. What
would happen if I started to comment on the content of their work?

Citing copyright infringement, the BBC contacted Radio Zamaneh and had
them take down seven screenshots I had used from the training video to
illustrate my point.

In the time I worked there, this had never happened.
I asked friends at the BBC World Service and they were more
or less of the opinion that I had not violated copyright law. I am
still waiting to hear back from their legal department.


It would be usefule if we know that more than 60 procent of people in large cities using satelite TV chanales and most frequnetly Persian channals, then notice that why analysing, critc and study on this channels seems so importanat for media researchers to better understanding of media policy and contents of these channels.

This job should be done and improving more and more by researcher to know how such studies can get interact with other relvant variables in the daily life and discovering how the facts could be massuring by analytical and scnitific methods.

BBC Persian TV is launching!

We finally had some good news: BBC Persian Service, the second professional news and television program, is slated to launch by the end of the year.

Many of the journalists and editors of PTV -- as the BBC refers to it-- are my old friends and colleagues and most of them have no TV background. But there is no need for panic, the BBC always offers the best (or one of the best) training programs. Almost all of the 70 PTV employees have now completed their courses on TV journalism. BBC Persian TV has only one rival: VOA Persian, news and feature programs run by VOA out of Washington. DC, but many experts believe the quality and content of the VOA programs do not meet BBC standards.

There appears to be a huge gap between the producers of VOA's PersianTV programs and the youth in Iran, who make up the majority of the population. Furthermore, VOA is considered to be one-sided and biasedin its reporting and pursues an approach toward Iran that is old fashioned.

The BBC Persian Service is considered to be conservative, but one that seeks to maintain its ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran. It has been criticized for not being impartial, even for being pro regime, or at least favorable to the reformist faction of the Iranian government. But the BBC's standards of neutrality, balance and responsibility in reporting require it to have a rational relationship with any government in Iran.

The BBC works hard to keep a correspondent and an office in Tehran. But requests by its Persian service to open an office in Tehran has been rejected many times. The IR has also banned the BBC Persian website, which has "millions" of visitors each month, mostly fromIran.

I remember when I was dispatched to cover a demonstration against Khatami in front of Chatham House in London; When I asked anti-regime Iranians for a short interview, most of them answered with anger and disappointment at the BBC Persian Service and blamed it for supporting the regime.

I can understand their feelings, but I cannot understand why they expect the BBC to act as a subversive media outlet. But I also know that most of those same Iranians living abroad check the BBC Persian Service website everyday and get most of their information from there.

In Iran, the BBC appears to be more popular, in my survey that I conducted last year, more than 90% of students who asked to said they would welcome BBC PTV as a new source of news.

In this survey most of the students said they use the internet and Persian satellite TV to access the latest news on Iran and international issues or even entertainment, while also watching IRIB news programs.

While some experts like Massoumeh Torfeh correctly believe BBC Persian TV may face challenge to Iran’s media market, there are many factors that can workin its favor to woo viewers and catch eyes on this new channel, including trust, influence and having a good relationship in Iran, we can also count on young editors in BBC Persian TV.

But it is obvious that these factors are not enough. The BBC needs to cover the different needs of its audience. In my survey, a majority of students suggested a 50-50 breakdown between news and non political programs.

From this point of view, maybe no TV background of almost all of editors come out, if they don't involve more TV people especially those who came from Iran in editorial and gate keeping system.

BBC Persian TV has an eye on its Arabic channel, and another on its competitors. but may be the only answer for knowing, making and involving audience is focus on research and survey, The BBC Persian radio service generally has no more than a 5% audience, and the website is completely filtered in Iran. So the only way for the BBC to find its way into the living room of Iranians is through satellite TV. By some estimates, more than 60% urban households have satellite television, though it is illegal.

I will write more on BBC PTV, while some blatherers in some notorious websites in Iran published my name as one of three cavalier of this TV (while I am not involve in any part of it), but I like the promotion compliment of being a cavalier of media!

So thank you!
...

Related:

The Long Story of My Critic on BBC Persian!
The Paradox of Iranian Media

...

Iran's Human rights violation in the shadow of nuclear issue

On the same day that Saeid Jalili, Iran's nuclear negotiator, was preparing two pages full of mistakes and silly plans for a nuclear summit in Geneva, an Islamic Revolution Court in Sannadaj, a large city in the Kurdistan Province of Iran, sentenced Hana Abdi, a 21-year-old student and feminist activist, to five years in jail in exile, in a small city near the border where political prisoners are held alongside common criminals.

Hana Abdi, captured 9 month ago, was accused of atheism, warfare, and activity against national security, but her lawyer has said there is no evidence in his client's file to back up the claims.
Abdi was arrested with Ronak Safarzadeh, who is still in Intelligence Minstery lockup. Similarly, Safarzadeh is accused of atheism, warfare, and terrorist plotting. Her confessions are the only evidence against her in her file. During her stay at the Intelligence Ministry, it was reported at least twice that she was transferred to a hospital, leading to reports she was tortured into confessing to crimes.

Iran's jails are the most dangerous in the world, not only for political activists, but for ordinary people as well, who are captured violating obligatory Islamic rules such as the mandatory wearing of the Hijab. Many girls have been beaten and raped in recent years, and some killed. There are lots of cases of "suicide" in jails; families believe the "suicides" are victims of rape and murder by interrogators.

All attempts to investigate such claims of torture, rape, and murder in jails get blocked by the court system. Ronak and Hana [pdf] are not the only young girls accused of atheism and warfare; there are feminists, leftist activists, and students in jail on such charges. Some are kidnapped and disappeared for months; there is a deep fear that they may be killed at any moment.
While most of the news coverage of Iran is focused on the nuclear issue, finding reports on the daily and systematic human rights violations happening inside Iran is rare to the point of being nonexistent. The nuclear issue casts a deep shadow over international coverage, obscuring what is happening to 70 million Iranians, people who suffering from Iran's brand of political Islam.

President Ahamdinejad's government - which says Iran's people are getting happier - is at the same time trying to tighten the noose with heavy sentences like capital punishment around students, feminists, teachers, workers, and political activists.

On the same day Ahmadinejad was on NBC saying Iranians are lucky to live under a dictatorship, 29 young men were hanged in Evin prison, some of them younger than 20.
While Ahmadinejad was smiling and saying to NBC, "You shouldn't be worried about the Iranian people," eight young women and one man are awaiting a sentence of death by stoning for adultery.

While the world continues to focus on the never-ending nuclear negotiations with Iran, Iran's human rights violations should play a part in the discussions [pdf].

Published in: The Seminal