The My Stealthy Freedom page quickly became one of the most-viewed Persian-language pages on Facebook — and this did not escape the attention of the Iranian authorities and security establishment. In the fourth episode of our documentary series, we looked at the threats against Masih Alinejad and at how hardliners including MP Hamid Rasaei accused her of “moral corruption”.
The threats and insults increased, from messages and comments to threats over the telephone and eventually, a vicious smear campaign. Official Iranian television broadcast a fabricated news story, reporting that Alinejad had been raped at a London underground station in front of her son while she had been under the influence of mind-altering drugs. In this instalment, Masih Alinejad and her son talk about the phony media story, how they responded to it, and what impact it had on their family in Iran. Under these tense conditions, and faced with a barrage of violent messages, Masih Alinejad responded in the only way she knew how. Watch the video.
Watch all the episodes of My Stealthy Freedom Documentary: