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Meta Removes Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei’s Instagram, Facebook Accounts
On Thursday (Feb 8), Meta removed the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The action is said to be largely the result of pressure from Israeli lobby groups in the wake of the Oct.7 terror attacks on southern Israel. Iranian leaders frequently use the term “Zionist entity” in English messaging and will not say “Israel”—which has been flagged as a violation of Meta’s hate speech policies.
“We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy,” a Meta spokesperson confirmed to Middle East Eye.
Meta cited its policy of not allowing “organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence” on its platform.
Ayatollah Khamenei has used his official media accounts to post in support of the Palestinian plight, and Tehran has long stood accused of backing Hamas, which is listed by the US and many European countries as a terrorist organization.
Per MEE’s figures, “Khamenei’s Persian-language account had more than 5.1 million followers, while his English-language account had more than 204,000.”
Sources: ZeroHedge, Middle East Eye
