Trudeau deletes tweet claiming Iran has sentenced 15,000 protesters to death
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deleted a tweet claiming that Iran had sentenced detained protesters to mass execution after fact-checkers deemed the claim false.
The tweet, which was taken down after 12 hours, denounced the Iran regime’s “barbaric decision to impose the death penalty on nearly 15,000 protesters.”
In an email statement to Daily Hive, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) says the post was “informed by initial reporting that was incomplete and lacked necessary context.”
“Because of that, it has since been deleted,” a spokesperson told Daily Hive.
“It was based on reporting of serious concerns raised by international human rights advocates warning of possible future sentences, including the death penalty, imposed on thousands of Iranian protesters who have already been detained by the regime.”
@JustinTrudeau/Twitter
So, where did this information come from?
In the past week, a photo of a woman holding an Iranian flag with the text “Iran sentences 15,000 protesters to death — as a ‘hard lesson’ for all rebels” has circulated all over Instagram.
The infographic has been shared by many including celebrities like Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner and The Woman King star Viola Davis.
@sophiet/Instagram
As seen in a screenshot of Turner’s now-deleted post above, Instagram has labelled the post as “false,” linking to an article by Logically, an AI-powered company that uses expert analysis to combat online misinformation.
@sophiet/Instagram
According to Logically’s report, the information was misinterpreted based on a Newsweek article about the Iranian parliament voting in favour of harsher punishments for protesters.
Newsweek added a correction Tuesday afternoon stating that the article and headline were edited to remove the reference to parliament voting for death sentences.
“A majority of the parliament supported a letter to the judiciary calling for harsh punishments of protesters, which could include the death penalty,” it reads.
Logically states this is why the claim about executing 15,000 people is baseless, adding that that number comes from estimates by the United Nations on how many anti-regime protesters have been detained.
While 15,000 detained protesters may not have been sentenced to death, an Iran court has officially issued the first death sentence to a person arrested for partaking in civil disobedience.
The PMO also provided a response to this news.
“We should not lose sight of the fact that one person has already been sentenced to death, and that Iranian parliamentarians should not call for any death sentences to be imposed,” said a spokesperson for Trudeau. “Already, dozens of protesters have been killed by the regime’s security forces.”
They add that the government is taking action to hold the regime accountable, including banning tens of thousands of members of the Iranian regime.
Lack of information from the regime
While fact-checkers say this claim is false, many are warning Western media about what information the Iranian regime doesn’t want people to know.
Many have replied with frustration to a Wall Street Journal reporter’s fact check saying how a lot of deaths and information go unreported.
Have you ever heard of him, for example? https://t.co/wu6b0Np1pa
He got sentenced to Moharebeh which basically means death by execution. I can give you many more examples that none of you know of because you don’t speak Persian and you don’t follow the news from the source.
— Lily🏴 (@Hiamlily1) November 15, 2022
People also argue that it’s still alarming to know that parliament supports executing those who disagree with the regime.
Regardless, the death of one protestor is the death of one person too many. Please be mindful of that fact. No person should be sentenced to death for disagreeing with their country’s laws.
— Izzy B (@retheahjb) November 15, 2022
“It was just a decision that they COULD choose to kill them, but they haven’t decided to do so yet, so saying that have decided to do so is inaccurate.” Which is some media bullshit mumbo jumbo worth ignoring. Sune is wrong on this one. 🤷🏻♂️
— Alex B. (@firstshowing) November 15, 2022
The civil unrest in Iran was triggered when a woman named Mahsa Amini died in police custody after she allegedly failed to meet the country’s strict dress code that requires women to wear a headscarf and cover their hair in a certain way.
The incident fuelled the anger that had built up over decades of strict laws violently enforced against women under the country’s Islamic regime.
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