Ministry of Culture Official: People Do Not Trust Official Media

According to an official from Iran's Ministry of Culture, state media is the "greatest social harm," people do not trust official media, and platforms like "Telegram," "Instagram," "Facebook," and "YouTube" have significant influence over the Iranian population. Mohammad Reza Javadi Yeganeh, head of the Research Institute for Culture, Art, and Communication at the Ministry, expressed these views at a scientific meeting titled "The Shift in Reading and Social Media." On Tuesday, February 25, the ISNA news agency reported that Mr. Javadi Yeganeh described the reading rate in Iran as "terrifying" and "worrisome," attributing social media as one of the factors contributing to this decline. He pointed out the existence of "unrealistic statistics" regarding reading rates in Iran, stating that "self-reports" on individuals' reading habits do not align with the state of publishing in Iran. Javadi Yeganeh lamented that "unfortunately, reading books has disappeared in the country, and it is no longer easy to restore this culture." In another part of his remarks, he criticized the performance of mobile social networks in Iran and discussed their significant influence. He mentioned that there are currently 22 million "Telegram" users in Iran, with the most visited channel, "Badandid," having 1.3 million members. He added that this channel, like many others on this social network, is a "center of confusion, noise, and rumors" with no clear output. He noted that the Telegram channel "Gizmiz" is one that "poses no harm to the audience and can be considered the best Telegram channel compared to others." According to this Ministry of Culture official, "virtual networks currently have a significantly worse and more degenerate situation than television," with state media becoming the "greatest social harm in Iran." He stated that if the people of Iran do not engage with Iranian television programs and "completely turn it off and eliminate it, nothing negative will happen to them." Javadi Yeganeh also criticized official media in Iran, stating that they have not been "successful" and that people do not "trust" them. He identified the public's attention to "rumors and noise" on mobile social networks as one of the most important signs of the failure of official media and the public's distrust of them. This Ministry of Culture official evaluated media management based on "expediency" rather than "people's needs" as another factor driving Iranians towards mobile social networks. Mobile social networks have become one of the most important communication tools and sources of news and information for the people of this country. According to the latest survey, 53% of the total population of Iran is a member of at least one social network. This survey, published in December of this year by ISPA, shows that 56% of urban residents and 42% of rural residents are members of at least one social network. In this survey, 38% of respondents considered mobile social networks to be a "good" tool. The increasing trend of Iranians using social media has raised concerns among officials of the Islamic Republic, with some calling for the blocking of these networks. The judiciary is mentioned as the most important institution advocating for the closure of these networks in Iran, especially "Telegram." In this context, the newspaper Shahrvand reported that smart filtering of Telegram has begun in Iran. The filtering of the messaging network "Telegram" did not receive a vote in Iran. Telegram rejected Iran's claim about blocking "requested channels."