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After his death, the Iranian propaganda campaign intensified widespread disinformation efforts in creating fake news outlets, fabricating journalist personas, and systematically coordinating the international public opinion toward idolization of Soleimani. These efforts included using state-run TV channels and several social media accounts, a large proportion of which had newly been created, and posting repetitive images of coffins draped in American flags, a beheaded Donald Trump, as well as heroic, “noble warrior” depictions of Soleimani, appealing to both nationalists and religious conservatives.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] It is believed by many that these measures have been at least partially successful, arguing that even some American outlets were comprehensively biased [9][10][11], An example being questionable polling surveys which have become popular among academics, the media and politicians in the West. [12]. Iranian propaganda was obviously not merely restricted to media. Children in schools were provided worksheets that celebrated the general’s life and laid out the reasons for his death, university students were asked to attend the funerals in order to get a passing marks in their courses, government centers were closed, private businesses were forcibly shut, and free accommodation and food and even cash payments were guaranteed in order to bring larger crowd to the burial ceremonies [13][14][15]. Soleimani's funerals were undoubtedly attended by thousands in several cities [16]. Nevertheless, those Iranians against the Islamic republic’s politics in general, and its expansionist adventures in specific, found it quite hard to deliver their voice to the world. Various social media like Twitter and Facebook are banned to the public and people were afraid to voice their hatred toward Soleimani publicly due to heavy government surveillance and control. In this case, these led to “virtually no question in the press that some might be forced to do so in order to protect their livelihood” [17][18][9]. Many of those living out of reach of the Iranian authorities, however, missed no opportunity in openly expressing their ideas, such as activists Saghar Erica Kasraie, Reza Alijani, and Masih Alinejad, as well as hundreds of others who condemned Soleimani and the Iranian regime’s propaganda surrounding his death and even praised Trump [17][19][20][21]. In the same vein, Iranians mourning for the dead of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 less than a week after Soleimani’s death called him a murderer and tore up his pictures, shattering the image of national solidarity [22][23][24][25][26].
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- ^ a b "Iran's propaganda implies Soleimani is being widely mourned — and the U.S. press is buying it". NBC News. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
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- ^ "'Basically propaganda': Soleimani funeral crowds create a false image of national mourning, analysts say". Washington examiner. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
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