The United States Department of Justice banned 27 additional domain names the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) unlawfully used to spread the regime’s disinformation and push the mullahs’ talking points.
The Department of Justice, in a statement on November 4, announced that “all 27 domains were being used in violation of U.S. sanctions targeting both the Government of Iran and the IRGC.
Four of the domains purported to be genuine news outlets but were actually controlled by the IRGC and targeted audiences in the United States, to covertly influence United States policy and public opinion, in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The remainder targeted audiences in other parts of the world. This seizure warrant follows an earlier seizure of 92 domains used by the IRGC for similar purposes.”
“Within the last month we have announced seizures of Iran’s weapons, fuel, and covert influence infrastructure,” said John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
“Today’s 29 seizures are another important step against Iran’s worldwide disinformation campaign,” said U.S. Attorney Anderson.
“This work will continue. We cannot allow Iran’s attachment to fake news to overtake our commitment to the rule of law.”
As mentioned by the U.S. Attorney, the Iranian regime has been using fake websites to pursue its campaign of misinformation.
The main target of the regime’s misinformation campaign is the Iranian resistance movement, particularly the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Here is an example that can help in understanding how the regime uses its propaganda websites to demonize the MEK and spread false information:
American Herald Tribune
Among the closed domains, there is a website called American Herald Tribune. This website, which had claimed to be a “genuinely independent online media outlet,” was founded in 2015, published in English, and paid Americans to write articles.
Read the complete article at NewsNow.com
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