Subversive Politics via SMS in Iran

Posted by CorinneRamey on Jan 23, 2008

Have you heard the joke about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? If you're a young person in Iran you probably have. Political jokes are spreading like wildfire in Iran, reports Parisa Dezfoulian in an article on texting in Iran in Middle East Online.

According to Desfoulian, SMS has become a way for young people to circumvent authority, largely through the spread of political jokes on subjects from nuclear energy to petrol bans to government rationing. She notes that with more than 20 million SMS messages sent every day in Iran,

[SMS] has ceased to be merely a way of sending a quick alert, and become a method of political and cultural discourse, filling the gap left by the dearth of free and independent media of the conventional sort. Texting is now a potent way of distributing information, critical remarks and above all jokes about politics. With no censorship and no holds barred, it allows people to break taboos, criticise the authorities, have some fun or chat someone up.

Iran isn't the first country to spread political jokes via mobile phone. SMS jokes have circulated through the Phillipines, Zimbabwe, and other countries, poking fun at local leaders and political practices. More than just entertainment, these jokes are a way to spread political information, communicate discontent and even encourage mass political organizing and protests.

Photo courtesy Karl O'Brien

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