Subscribe Donate
TRENDING NOW: Hamas | International Federation of Journalists | Terrorism | October 7 | Antisemitism

Human Rights (Terms and Conditions Apply): Influencers’ Embarrassing Meltdown Over Iranian Protests

Since the protests in Iran began on December 28, 2025, most sane observers have watched with bated breath, hoping for…

By January 12, 2026
Human Rights (Terms and Conditions Apply): Influencers’ Embarrassing Meltdown Over Iranian Protests

Key Takeaways:

  • Selective morality, now in 4K: Commentators who can spot “genocide” from 5,000 miles away suddenly need glasses when Iranian protesters are gunned down by an Islamist regime.

  • From watchdogs to lapdogs: Too many influencers and “independent” outlets have swapped journalism for regime-friendly talking points, blaming Mossad, the CIA, or anyone except the men actually pulling the triggers.

  • Free speech for me, footnotes for thee: Support for the Iranian people arrives heavily caveated (“Yes, but Israel…”), proving once again that for some, human rights only matter when they can be weaponized against the Jewish state.



Since the protests in Iran began on December 28, 2025, most sane observers have watched with bated breath, hoping for possible regime change while praying that the captive Iranian citizenry will be spared the full repression of the Ayatollah’s state apparatus.


And then there are those who plant their flag on the wrong side of history, supporting autocrats and terrorists over free societies because it doesn’t fit their immature binary worldview where the West is evil, and everything else can be excused.


From the Israel-Hamas war to the latest events in Iran, this moral perversity rears its head with depressing regularity as certain commentators indulge in open support for the Islamic Republic, downplaying the democratic protests, or inserting caveats in their expressed support for the Iranian people.


Thanks to social media, these objectionable takes on the Iranian protests have been laid bare in front of the world for all to see. Here are some of the worst takes from X (formerly Twitter) in recent days:


1. David Miller: “The Islamic Republic Is Opposed to the Islamic Revolution”


David Miller is a disgraced former professor at Bristol University who regularly appears on Press TV (an Iranian state propaganda organ) and spends his time on X railing against “Jewish supremacists” and “Ukrainian Nazis.”


In a shock to no one, he also has some of the worst takes on X regarding the Iranian protest movement.


In several posts, Miller claimed that the anti-regime movement is actually being run by Mossad agents and expressed support for the brutal repression of the Iranian protesters. In one particularly dreadful post, Miller asserted that “this should be the last time the Republic’s enemies are able to mobilise inside the nation” and called for the Ayatollah’s regime to “liquidate the Zionist threat” (i.e. those championing democracy on the streets of Iran).


Unless one should think that Miller is a diehard supporter of the Iranian government, don’t worry: he does have his own criticisms of the regime, which he contends is “aggressively neoliberal” and has failed in fulfilling the vision of the Islamic Revolution. That’s right, David Miller thinks that the Islamic Republic is not fundamentalist enough.


David Miller is, at least, consistent. He always chooses the wrong side.





 


2. Bushra Shaikh: The Iranian Protests Are a “War on Islam”


If David Miller had the worst takes on the Iranian protest movement, British political commentator Bushra Shaikh’s recent X posts surely gave him quite the competition.


Shaikh, whose opinion has been sought by such venerable British media outlets as the BBC, ITV, and Talk TV, has spent the past little while acclaiming the Islamic Republic as a champion of women’s rights, publicly encouraging Tehran to develop nuclear weapons, and condemning the Iranian protests as the work of “violent vandals” and as a “war on Islam” by the “Mossad, CIA, and Western Imperialism.”


Just to add to the pro-Ayatollah cesspool that is Shaikh’s X account, she also dabbled in a little Holocaust denial, re-posting an estimation that 2,000 protesters had been killed by the regime with the caption “The real number is 6 million.”


Thank you to Bushra Shaikh for proving why her opinion should not be platformed by any mainstream media outlet ever again.





 


3. Mehdi Hasan & Owen Jones: Support the Iranian People But…


Both Mehdi Hasan and Owen Jones have made their careers by criticizing Israel and the West, all in the supposed name of “human rights” and “freedom.”


So, it’s no surprise that instead of fully supporting the Iranian protests, their social media has been more reserved, paying lip service to the democratic cause but adding a bunch of caveats.


For example, Hasan can’t express support for the movement without negatively mentioning Israel and the United States, while in another post, he is compelled to remind his audience that some of the protesters who were killed were armed.


In a further post, Hasan excuses the lack of mass protests against Iran in the West (such as those that were against Israel’s war with Hamas) by claiming that Israel is worse than the Iranian regime, “despite its many sins.”


It seems that Hasan is only capable of being unequivocal when he’s condemning Israel, not when he’s allegedly supporting Iranian human rights and freedoms.





 


Like Mehdi Hasan, Owen Jones seems incapable of supporting the Iranian people without castigating Israel and the U.S.


Not only that, Jones seems to have the added self-delusion that he knows what’s best for the Iranian people (despite having no Iranian heritage and having spent his life in the UK).


Fear not, people of Iran, Jones has all the answers – or at least he seems to think so, as his posts about the protests are a mix of railing against Israel and the U.S., lambasting support for Reza Pahlavi (the son of the deposed Shah of Iran), and spreading posts by the Tudeh party (an exiled Marxist-Leninist faction). Because a surefire way to know that someone is pro-democracy and human rights is their support for Marxism-Leninism.


Both Owen Jones and Mehdi Hasan have the gift of the gab, eloquently expressing their positions when it comes to condemning Israel and the U.S. However, when it comes to defending those who are oppressed by an Islamist regime, their forthrightness and zealousness for human rights appear to disintegrate into a pile of half-hearted and caveated condemnations. Thus proving that they are not the beacons of progress that they profess to be, but bitter peddlers of hate and discontent.





 


4. Cenk Uygur & Ana Kasparian’s Deafening Silence


During the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025, The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian had plenty to say, condemning the Jewish state (and then the United States) for its attack on the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile and nuclear capabilities.


However, now that Iranian people are protesting their theocratic regime and facing state repression, the two appear to be struggling for words.


Since December 28, when the protests began, Uygur has made vague, limited references to Iran (usually in discussions of American imperialism) but never once made any mention of the popular movement that has taken over the Iranian streets.


Similarly, Kasparian has not been shy about having her opinion heard on X, posting and re-posting numerous times since December 28 (including several times castigating Israel for one perceived injustice or another). However, about the news from Iran that has been featured in all of the major news outlets over the past few days? Not a peep.


What is it about a democratic protest movement set against a repressive Islamist regime that has caused these champions of human rights and freedoms to lose their ability to speak out? Are they only interested in the Middle East when they can cast aspersions at Israel or the United States?


 


5. Drop Site News & MintPress News: The Independent Media Echoing the Iranian Regime


Drop Site News and MintPress News are two alternative media sites that pride themselves on being independent news sources with a focus on accountability and journalistic integrity. On X, this “independence” usually translates to anti-Israel and anti-American reporting.


However, when it comes to the protests in Iran, both news sources seem to have swapped their “independence” for “acquiescence,” mainly reporting on the protests from a regime perspective.


For its part, Drop Site News’ coverage feigns objectivity by reporting on the protests and what drives the protesters, but a closer look shows that it heavily relies on statements and messages put out by the Iranian regime.


It took several days for Drop Site News to report anything about the protests, and when it did, it blamed the state of the Iranian economy largely on U.S. sanctions (as opposed to mismanagement, corruption, and wasteful spending that characterize the Iranian regime’s financial policy).


Since then, Drop Site’s coverage largely features statements by official Iranian sources (such as state media, ruling politicians, etc.), creates a moral equivalence between the killing of demonstrators by the state apparatus and the killing of security forces, spotlighting pro-regime demonstrations, and casting doubt on the number of protesters killed by the repressive regime.





 


While Drop Site News feigned objectivity while subtly spreading regime propaganda, MintPress News had no such qualms.


Since the protests began, the far-left news site has had limited coverage, and when it does cover them, it sounds like an Iranian propaganda outfit, referring to the demonstrators as “Israel-backed rioters” and focusing on pro-regime counter-demonstrations.


At the same time, it has had tens of posts about Israel, accusing it of every crime under the sun.


Clearly, “independent media” is a codeword for supporting every despot and repressive regime imaginable, as long as they are against Israel or the U.S.





 


The commentators and observers who view the world through a black-and-white lens have an easy job when it comes to condemning Israel, the United States, and the West.


However, when it comes to citizens standing up to an anti-American Islamist regime, these same people and organizations have a hard time squaring the circle and reckoning with this attack on their simplistic worldview. Thus, we have the above resorting to an alternative view of reality, caveat-laden support for the protests, or downplaying of the protests altogether.


Liked this article? Follow HonestReporting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to see even more posts and videos debunking news bias and smears, as well as other content explaining what’s really going on in Israel and the region. Get updates direct to your phone. Join our WhatsApp and Telegram channels!

							


							

								© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
							



							
						


													

																	

										

																							Chaim Lax
																						

												

																											Chaim Lax
																									

																									

														
Originally from Toronto, Canada, Chaim moved to Israel in 2018. He has a B.A. (Hons) in Political Science and History from York University as well as an MA in Israel Studies from the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University. Prior to joining HonestReporting, Chaim worked with a variety of Israel advocacy organizations in both Canada and Israel.

													

																							

										

									

															

						
					

				

				

					

						

							
  9 Min								Read
							

							
						

													Go to the Summary
						
						

							
Share this Article

							
						


													

								
By Topic

								
							

											

				

			

			

										

					
Discover More

					

													
													
													
																	

				

				







	

		
		

			

				Get clear, reliable Israel news and tools to fight media bias.
			

			

				
				Subscribe