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 10 - A NATO think tanker’s “rent-a-crowds”
Barbara Slavin, the former director of the “Future of Iran Initiative” at the NATO and Saudi-sponsored Atlantic Council, claimed the massive rallies held across Iran in support of the government represented “rent-a-crowds” filled with desperate people “promised free lunch to chant these tired slogans”.
The notion that the ranks of pro-government rallies are inflated due to the enticement of free, government-distributed drinks or snacks is an ongoing trope repeated in legacy media since Iran’s revolution in 1979. What is never mentioned, however, is that at large public gatherings, it is common for individuals to offer drinks and food as a way of showing hospitality and religious piety. Furthermore, in a theocratic system like Iran’s, the government represents a religious institution, which makes it no different than a church providing free coffee and doughnuts. Do millions of Americans attend church every week simply for the free refreshments?
Perhaps the most underreported event in the world is the Arbaeen Pilgrimage, in which over 25 million people walk for days, for over 50 miles, from Najaf to Karbala. Along the route, they are treated to “copious” free food, free drinks and free accommodation provided primarily by Iranians. This all takes place in the context of the same cultural tradition that Western media misinterprets to delegitimize Iran’s massive pro-government protests.
Perhaps the most underreported event in the world is the Arbaeen Pilgrimage, in which over 25 million people walk for days, for over 50 miles, from Najaf to Karbala. Along the route, they are treated to “copious” free food, free drinks and free accommodation provided primarily by Iranians. This all takes place in the context of the same cultural tradition that Western media misinterprets to delegitimize Iran’s massive pro-government protests.
However, unlike with the Arbaeen Pilgrimage, no photographic evidence exists of food distribution during any of the recent massive pro-government rallies in Iran – not a food truck in sight. A rally of 100,000 people would require approximately 11 tons of food (at 100 grams per serving) to accommodate, which would make images of food distribution impossible to ignore. Yet Slavin’s lazy claim was not accompanied by a single piece of visual proof. Nor did she explain how free food was sufficient to motivate Iranians to pour into the streets for their government in the midst of blistering snow storms.
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