Claim: An image widely shared on social media claims that it shows pro-government rallies in Iran held to counter anti-hijab protests in September 2022.
Fact: The image is not from recent protests but from a December 2017 protest in Tehran, Iran.
On 24 September 2022, a Facebook user posted an image with a caption that, when translated from Urdu, reads, The western media and local liberals can see the protest of a small group of women and NGO’s, why don’t they see the hundreds of thousands of women marching today in favour of the hijab.”
The image started appearing on social media after thousands of people attended pro-hijab rallies supported by the government in many Iranian cities on 23 September 2022 in reaction to the nationwide anti-hijab protests.
Iran has been rocked by protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by the country’s so-called ‘moral police’ for allegedly breaking the national dress code for women. Amini’s family believe her death was caused by police brutality while in custody.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search on Tin Eye, leading to an article published by the Daily Mail UK in January 2018. The article features this image with the caption, “Iranian protesters chant slogans at a rally in Tehran, Iran on 30 December 2017”. The picture is credited to Associated Press (AP) news agency photographer Ebrahim Noroozi.
A keyword search led to an AP article published on 2 January 2018 also featuring the same image with the caption, “In this 30 December 2017, photo, Iranian protesters chant slogans at a rally in Tehran, Iran. The Trump administration calls on Iran’s government to stop blocking Instagram and other popular social media sites as Iranians demonstrate in the streets.”
It is clear that the image is not from protests in September 2022. However, it has been shared here, here, and here on Facebook with false context.
Conclusion: The image of a pro-hijab public rally is not from September 2022, but from December 2017 demonstrations held in Tehran, Iran.