Thread by @sunnshiiny

Here is an example of politically motivated disinformation. Sadly, using an Iranian-Canadian victim of the downed flight in Iran.

Using others grief and emotional devastation for political gain is an unconscionable and heinous abuse of the victims of this tragedy.

https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/1217513276269088768

Reviewing the video clip, it’s evident that the mother of the young man who was killed is overwhelmed with grief. As any loving and devoted parent would be.

But the narrator makes the claim that this relative of the grieving mother complained about Iran state intimidation.

She didn’t.

I watched the video. Trusting the translation is accurate, I didn’t see any evidence of the interviewee referring to intimidation. Just profound grief of a mother.

Anyone with empathy is profoundly impacted by the grief of the mother & this family.

I have no doubt the Iranian totalitarian government is trying to contain the narrative to reduce its culpability in this incident. In Iran and globally. Perhaps the state TV reporters were there to harass and intimidate the family. We DON’T know one way or the other.

Perhaps this is a common tactic in Iran? Would Iran use state TV reporters to coerce compliance to not speak negatively about the incident & Iran’s culpability? Consumers of the info aren’t given any background on Iranian intimidation tactics, so there is no context to draw upon.

Most Canadian and American citizens, the targeted audience of this tweet, are ignorant of the tactics the Iranian regime uses to control the narrative. Myself included. So context is required to ensure accurate interpretation of the information. We aren’t given any.

Consumers either trust the journalist’s interpretation or not.

This is an example of POST TRUTH POLITICS. The tweet focusses on the devastation and emotions of the family vs any factual information about the Iranian regime’s intimidation tactics, or behaviour.

There is no doubt the intended purpose of this tweet is to raise tensions and elicit animus towards the Iranian regime. To stoke the fires of revenge and hatred.

Once crtisized, I imagine many will condemn that it’s been exposed as a post truth narrative. Time will tell.

The additional video includes the family representative’s lament for the return of the deceased young man’s remains. Also commentary from the narrator on the video & the accompanying text that fosters belief that Iran is specifically refusing to release the remains of this man.

The consumer of the information is left wondering if the Iranian regime is targeting this family and refusing to release the man’s remains because the family has been critical of the regime’s culpability.

That is the intended emotions this tweet is supposed to convey.

That is the information that inspired me to expose this false narrative and point out this information as intentional disinformation.

The plane crash, explosion and the initial missile hits were catastrophic. Any and all human remains will be difficult to identify.

The Canadian consulate is retrieving DNA samples from family members to assist in the identification of the remains of Canadian victims.

Perhaps the interviewee doesn’t comprehend the devastation that each victim’s remains suffered. Again, we aren’t told.

No one wants to face that a deceased loved one is now beyond recognition. It will take time, effort and science to determine the identity of most remains. Discussing this reality is uncomfortable and incomprehensible to those suffering profound grief. Understandably.

Using the inability or difficulty to confront the utter devastation to the remains of a loved one is beyond manipulative & unscrupulous.

That’s why this narrative needs to be exposed as heinous and unashamed propaganda meant to elicit animus.

Coupled with the cultural practices of the Muslim faithful to bury the deceased quickly, this is an abhorrent abuse of this family’s pain and grief.

Dig further into the narrator’s twitter feed. Post truth politics is a common feature.

Political agendas beget indifference to other’s suffering.

The narrator is of Iranian descent. How could she be so callous to abuse victims of this tragedy to further her own agenda? One that Iran, very uncharacteristically, has already admitted fault and culpability.

The answer is unfortunately very simple.

The desire for regime change is given greater significance than the profound grief of this family. A mother’s profound grief over the loss of a child caused by a totalitarian regime is a powerful weapon to gain support for an agenda.

One that was too tempting to pass up.

I agree that the totalitarian regime in Iran is repressive and murderous. A change would be in the best interests of the citizens.

But that’s not for the Canadian PM to decide nor influence. Especially not in the wake of this incident.

But that’s precisely what this narrator is attempting to do. Influence Canadians, the PM, and government bureaucrat representatives faced with the unenviable task of wading through this situation & aiding the families of the victims.

Her narrative is being amplified in Canada.

That is the frightening aspect of the tweet. She’s intentionally trying to foment anger, feelings of revenge and of rancour within a certain segment of the Canadian population.

To elicit an emotional reaction based on anger & resentment that forces the hand of PM Trudeau.

Just like similar attempts by Canadian conservative politicians, like Harper, Scheer, Poilievre, O’Toole, Day.

At the same time this tweet is being amplified in Canada, we had a cacophony of Conservatives echoing the call for regime change and a desire for revenge.

Masih Alinejad is behaving no differently than Keean Bexte. A provocateur.

She’s just infinitely better at it than Bexte.

Canada, please learn how to recognize post truth narratives.

If you read or watch info and all you feel is angry, bitter, vengeful, or hatred, you are being manipulated.

That’s what Alinejad is doing unfortunately. Vigorously massaging the emotions of bitterness and revenge of the Canadian public.

Whether she is doing this independently for a “higher” purpose, or coordinating this with far right politicians in US and Canada is unknown.

But it is quite the coincidence that Con propaganda and this propaganda emerged around the same time.

Synchronicity? 🤷🏻‍♀️

But it’s also on the eve of the Senate Impeachment Trial commencing today.

Quite the synchronicity indeed, since Trump ordered Soleimani’s assassination to distract from impeachment, & yesterday another possible assassination attempt on Marie Yovanivich was revealed. Weird huh?