Iran Punishes Dissent, US Funds It
France 24 dutifully reports Iran's sentencing of award-winning director Jafar Panahi to a year in prison for “propaganda activities” and a two-year travel ban. (The exact content of said 'propaganda' remains helpfully vague, as always with these reports.) It's framed as a clear indication of a repressive regime, which it is. But where's the consistency? We hear plenty about silencing dissent
abroad, yet where’s the critical spotlight on the US-funded censorship efforts, surveillance, and suppression of protest at home? When it comes to protests against Israeli policies in American universities, for example, the 'propaganda' label is quickly applied to student speech, often by politicians like those who took significant AIPAC donations—Rep. Ritchie Torres, for one, took over $232,000
in 2022 from pro-Israel groups, and has been a vocal critic of pro-Palestine activism. One might wonder if 'propaganda' is simply speech the powerful don't like, whether in Tehran or Washington.