Finding Reliable Data in Iran Where Facts Are Political
Misinformation leads to ill-informed policies, fuels hate and shapes public perceptions. Our work as fact-checkers is to challenge its spread and reduce its impact through careful, evidence-based reporting. In Iran, not only has misinformation permeated social media and messaging platforms, but it is often spread and fueled by state-controlled media infrastructure, censorship and limited press freedom.
From false beliefs to conspiracy theories backed by powerful public officials, mis- and disinformation in Iran has devastating consequences, as shown in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of false “evidence” to prosecute dissidents. During critical political moments, as seen in the Zhina (Mahsa) Amini protests in 2022, disinformation serves as a key strategy for powerful actors to divert attention and sway public opinion.
As fact-checkers, we rely only on publicly available online data, so anyone can access the same sources and verify our findings.
And it’s important to mention that we at Factnameh don’t collaborate with anyone inside Iran, nor rely on leaked information that is not in the public domain. So, as you can imagine, to do our work, we need to access and verify data and information from Iran.
Challenges with Data in Iran
Accessing reliable data about Iran is complex, and errors are common in reporting about Iran, including reports by international institutions like the World Bank or the IMF. For example, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently estimated Iran’s 2024 military spending at $8 billion US dollars, while the real number is closer to $20 billion US dollars. Quite a large gap.
Political constraints, lack of transparency, and inconsistent data make Iran-related research tricky. Here is a summary of the main challenges:
Access restrictions: Many websites and official data are blocked from outside Iran. Critical data, like energy, water, and environmental statistics, is often inaccessible.
Disorganized data: A lot of raw data exists, but it’s scattered and lacks standard formatting, making analysis difficult. A lot of raw data exists on government and municipal websites, even data from startups like Snapp or Digikala is underused.
Low-quality data: Important data is often published in poor quality or intentionally obscured, like the 2022 national budget, which was only released as a low-quality image with barely readable numbers.
Conflicting official data: Even relatively reliable sources, like the Statistical Center or Central Bank, often provide contradictory numbers for GDP and Inflation, creating confusion for researchers and media.
Manipulated data: There are organized campaigns to distort information, from women’s rights statistics to corporate registries, complicating efforts to track money laundering and illegal financial activity.
Cyber armies: Government-backed cyber groups spread disinformation and attack journalists and fact-checkers, raising the cost of accessing accurate information and exhausting those seeking the truth.
So, what is the solution? The answer lies in building an effective network to manage data and ensure the flow of reliable information. This network should pursue several key goals:
First: Lay the groundwork for data validation, collection, and access to reliable information. Given the current restrictions, creating an Iran-focused data proxy network, a trusted reference for accessing accurate statistics and information, is essential. This would solve access issues, address disorganized and conflicting data, improve data quality, and filter out manipulated or falsified data.
Such a proxy network could provide live data, quarterly and annual analytical reports, and services that fill the gap in Iran-related data. It would serve both researchers and journalists, as well as international policymakers who need accurate information on topics ranging from money laundering to energy security and migration policies. So far, there have been scattered efforts, and some Iran-related databases exist, but we are still far from a comprehensive system.
Second: Build effective platforms to combat information manipulation. Fact-checking alone is not enough. We need systems that can identify, document, and respond to manipulated information. For example, efforts to make formal and informal actors in the ICT sector. By collecting and validating open data, it visualized the connections between influential individuals and governmental, semi-governmental, and private companies behind the state’s censorship and surveillance systems.
Interestingly, mapping the data revealed the strong presence of military and security institutions in ICT, which are also active abroad. They have been involved in money laundering and security operations in other countries, organized hacker attacks targeting Western infrastructure, and have been active in foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) in recent years.
This is especially relevant for Europe, which is one of the Iranian government’s targets. Reports show Iranian-linked accounts are used to inflame separatist movements and other divisive issues in European countries. Over the past months, Factnameh has been working on a series of reports examining how Iranian government entities, both through cyber groups and official networks abroad, influence and escalate polarizing issues in Europe.
In this context, creating a network for monitoring, studying, and providing early warning on Iranian FIMI activities is essential.
Third: Support independent journalism. Many independent journalists, data researchers, and fact-checkers operate in exile or under digital threats. International mechanisms supporting human rights defenders and media freedom could be expanded to include those working for data integrity in Iran
Reliable data about Iran is hard to access, fragmented, and sometimes manipulated. However, with the right platforms and independent monitoring, we can create systems that not only help researchers and journalists but also provide policymakers with trustworthy information to make informed decisions.