In a very unprofessional gaffe, the English website of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) publishes a photo absolutely unrelated to the so-called news about Iranian teachers.
The MKO propaganda claims to be the voice of the Iranian people propagating various news on the alleged riots, protests and revolt of the Iranian people! The most recent of the so-called protests is now seen on the group’s propaganda website Mojahedin.org under the title, “Iranian teachers in Hamedan rally to demand basic rights”.
The text of the alleged news quotes what it calls “independent reporters” reporting that “dozens of Iranian teachers took part in a rally in Hamedan, western Iran on Friday, demanding their basic rights and also the release of imprisoned teachers”. Surprisingly, a photo of teachers’ walking program in Hamedan with the fake caption reveals the misinformation campaign of the MKO propaganda.
While the MKO’s news claims that the teachers held up banners “which pointed out that their colleagues were being arrested in Iran simply for demanding their basic rights, such as fair wages,” teachers in the photo are carrying a banner in Persian with these exact words: “Family walking gathering of teachers of Hamedan Province”! The banner also includes the exact date and itinerary of the walking program. In addition, people in the picture include men, women and children walking peacefully on the side walk of the street.
Definitely, this is not the first time that the MKO propaganda seems to try to fool its English speaking audience by fake news and misinformation accompanied with real pictures. All through the years of conflicts on the Iranian nuclear program between Iran and the West, the MKO tried to launch propaganda to obstruct any deal between the two sides. From time to time, It held numerous press conferences on what it called “new revelations on the Iranian nuclear weapon program” showing some ambiguous satellite picture, maps and photographs to dupe its few spectators. Ultimately, the group’s efforts to misinform the West did not work and the deal was reached.
The new scandal on the MKO propaganda website is just another evidence on the group as “skilled manipulators of public opinion” as Rand Report calls them—although this time they do not look so skilled.