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Iran’s unrest triggers explosion of fake news

Some of the most incendiary accusations made against Iran’s government by corporate media, celebrity influencers and Western leaders in the past months are little more than fabrications. And most remain uncorrected.
 
by Setareh Sadeqi and Christopher Weaver
 
Part 8 - Non-existent dead person turns out to be living Iranian rapper
 
A person named Nadia Arefani has been presented as a casualty of the lethal violence of Iran’s security forces. However, the images of Arefani circulating on social media depict a not-very famous, but still very much alive Iranian rapper known as Niloufar. And Arefani herself may not even exist at all.

The photo of Niloufar was first shared by a Twitter user who had been encouraging Iranians to take up arms against their government, painting violent insurrection as the path to freedom and independence. Claiming the headshot depicted someone named Nadia Arefani, the Twitter user said they were killed by the Iranian police. 
 
The claim was later promoted on the Women’s Committee NCRI Twitter account, an affiliate of the Saudi and Israeli-backed MEK cult, which is openly devoted to fomenting regime change in Iran. Many social media users quickly pointed out that the person depicted in the post was an Iranian rap musician named Niloufar.

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