Social media platform X removed premium verification badges from senior Islamic Republic officials, triggering a surge of blue-ticked parody accounts that impersonate them and blurring the line between official statements and satire.
Within hours of the badges disappearing, accounts styled as satirical versions of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and senior official Ali Larijani began drawing thousands of views and followers.
One parody account using Larijani’s name published a post arguing that anyone who believes a meaningful agreement can be reached with the Islamic Republic is naïve.
Another account in Araghchi’s name, which was suspended later, published the monarchist slogan “Long live the King.”
X also removed blue ticks from accounts attributed to Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, according to a review of the platform.
An account using the name of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei posted a message suggesting he seek refuge with the Taliban. “If our friendly neighboring brothers, the Taliban, kindly issue six-month tourist visas, the situation is dire,” the post read.
Separately, parody accounts posing as parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and late Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani posted mocking replies in comment threads.
One fake Ghalibaf account warned the United States that if it repeated a hostile act “once more, it will become twice,” mimicking official rhetoric in an exaggerated, satirical tone.
A parody account impersonating former president Ebrahim Raisi posted a Valentine’s Day message lamenting that “no one sent us a teddy bear,” while another billed itself as “the first president in Iran’s history to be eaten by a bear” – a darkly comic nod to the online satire that has persisted around his death.
Most of the new profiles visibly carry the label “Parody account,” a designation that appears when a user identifies their profile as satirical.
Under X rules, accounts that present themselves as real individuals without clearly disclosing their unofficial nature can face suspension, prompting many users to add the parody label to reduce the risk of removal.
A parody account created in Khamenei’s name drew nearly 9,000 followers within hours. Similar accounts impersonating Araghchi and Larijani quickly grew to more than 20,000 and about 12,000 followers, respectively.
Official silence, media warning
Islamic Republic officials have not formally addressed the wave of impersonations. The Guards-linked Tasnim website wrote that following the removal of blue verification badges, several fake accounts misusing Larijani’s name and image had become active.
The episode follows earlier disputes between Iranian authorities and the platform. In November, X introduced a location feature showing the approximate origin of posts.
The update exposed numerous pro-government figures and individuals tied to the Islamic Republic posting from inside Iran, enjoying a tiered, privileged internet, where most users must bypass state restrictions on social media through tools such as VPNs.
The platform also replaced the Islamic Republic flag emoji with the pre-1979 Lion and Sun emblem for accounts set to Iran, prompting criticism from pro-government users and praise from some opposition voices.
Tweet unavailable
