Thread by @kombiz

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 1/ So let me weigh in on two points from earlier on the inauthentic and the diaspora's activism. Sorry for the super long thread coming up.

So, in my view, the diaspora is more interested in what is going on in Iran and how to support demonstrators today than at any other time.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 2/ I also believe that a number of actors have exploited the recent protests to fuel these tensions.

I've witnessed it throughout the years. I don't follow or think much about Kaveh, but I know he exists and has been pushing this smear for years.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 3/ I believe my first interaction with him was when he went after Jason Rezanian in 2018 or 2019.

The new aspect is the Inauthentic amplification, it's a serious issue because it attempts to game the algorithm on Twitter and I believe Instagram.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 4/ Because it is not promoted, our courteous dialogue here will not be noticed by many people. However, if someone stepped in and boosted this thread with 4k retweets, it would start to cross over.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 5/ As someone who follows US politics and disinformation amplification, I constantly see this around Iran twitter. It's happening on a scale I've never witnessed before. 140k tweets about NIAC in a single day.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 6/ More tweets about Negar than #TeamMelli hashtags during the US-Iran game. When you delve further, you'll find tons of accounts that post 300+ times each day. There are several red flags for unauthentic behavior.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 7/ But you are completely correct - we can't be dismissive about the overall activism; I take your argument and think that it does not diminish the activism that has occurred online after Jina's death.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 8/ Because there is more involvement and engagement in the community, some of this will spill over.

Returning to my example of receiving 4k tweets on this thread. I've tweeted about my own NIAC experience.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 9/ How I spent my time after working for the DNC in 2009 to encourage progressive journalists and outlets to cover the Green Revolution.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 10/ How NIAC and Trita were incredibly helpful in delivering breaking news, translations, and background from Iran to some of the journalists and outlets I knew who ended up covering it more. (one of several sources) In some circumstances, nonstop throughout June 2009.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 11/ Those tweets have an impact on the few people who view them in that conversation. However, in a world where there are 10k+ phony accounts magnifying other tweets or smears, it has no effect. It's a blip on the anti-NIAC radar ocean.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 12/ Better framing is required, but the fake account amplification is a real problem.

It also makes meaningful discussions and criticisms more difficult because they are amplified into a darker narrative.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 13/ However, as I stated in the discussion, I am rarely a target of these attacks. Nobody worries about me because I'm not involved in Iran policy. In the United States, I work with unions and progressive domestic causes.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 14/ But if I had a bad tweet, even 1k mentions can be disconcerting for someone without the tools to see what's going on, what they can see and ignore, and what they should reply to, but 1,000 is the small end in some of these attacks.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 15/ It also makes conversations and real critiques harder to digest because it's coming in the midst of nastiness and threats. While progressive voices in US are often the targets, it's also happening to others like Masih on a smaller scale.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 17/ The issue with NAIC isn't anything being said; it's that it's relatively small for the size of our community, and we don't have political/social organizations in the diaspora that deal with issues, even if we're politically fragmented.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 18/ From visas, censuses, bank accounts, community needs, and bringing voices to the table on foreign policy. Even if I disagree with them on some issues, I hope people engage in this action and create institutions that last longer.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 19/ For the most part, I believe some of the extremes will fade away, though I am concerned about Iranian-American Trumpists, who constitute a sizable small minority of the US diaspora.

Anyone can meet with their representative in Congress.

@susankhazaeli @ChronicBabak 20/ The concentration on US politics/policy is something I appreciated about NIAC. I have no desire to be a part of a group that seeks to return to Iran and govern it. We just need more community activism period.

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