Axis of amplification: Regime media, proxies and Western supporters respond to Iranian protests

The document analyzes how the Iranian regime and its allies used an 'axis of amplification' to frame nationwide protests as foreign-backed riots. It details the roles of state actors, regional proxies like Hezbollah and the Houthis, and Western far-right and far-left accounts in spreading disinformation, promoting antisemitic tropes, and accusing the US and Israel of orchestrating the unrest to justify state repression.

• Iranian state actors systematically delegitimized nationwide protests by framing them as violent 'riots' instigated by foreign agents, specifically the US and Israel. State-affiliated English-language posts used the term 'riots' approximately six times more frequently than 'protests'.
• The Iranian government initially attempted to suppress international awareness of the unrest, with English-language state accounts remaining largely silent until January 8, the date of a nationwide internet shutdown and the start of a major crackdown.
• Iran's regional proxies provided varied responses: Kata’ib Hezbollah threatened full-scale war against the US, the Houthis alleged the US manufactured crises via sanctions and 'criminal gangs', and Hezbollah attributed the protests' economic causes to US sanctions while blaming violence on 'foreign agents'.
• Russian state media, particularly RT, amplified the 'foreign-backed riots' narrative and characterized the protests as an application of 'colour revolution' methods, while China positioned itself as an arbiter for peace and used the events to criticize US foreign policy.
• Western far-right and conspiracy theorist accounts promoted the narrative that Israel was manipulating the US into a war with Iran by fabricating reports of state repression, often employing overt antisemitism.
• Western far-left and conspiracy theorist accounts echoed the regime's narratives by framing the protests as a 'US-Israeli terrorist attack' and attacking left-wing critics of the regime as being 'imperialist' or 'Zionist'.

APA

Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2026). Axis of amplification: Regime media, proxies and Western supporters respond to Iranian protests. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/axis-of-amplification-regime-media-proxies-and-western-supporters-respond-to-iranian-protests/

Chicago

Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Axis of amplification: Regime media, proxies and Western supporters respond to Iranian protests. 2026. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/axis-of-amplification-regime-media-proxies-and-western-supporters-respond-to-iranian-protests/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |title=Axis of amplification: Regime media, proxies and Western supporters respond to Iranian protests |date=27 February 2026 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/axis-of-amplification-regime-media-proxies-and-western-supporters-respond-to-iranian-protests/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforstrategicdialogue2026axis, author = {{Institute for Strategic Dialogue}}, title = {{Axis of amplification: Regime media, proxies and Western supporters respond to Iranian protests}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/axis-of-amplification-regime-media-proxies-and-western-supporters-respond-to-iranian-protests/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }