Podcast Summary: An Internet Blackout Hides A Regime's Excesses

Podcast: On the Media (WNYC Studios)
Date: February 11, 2026
Host: Brooke Gladstone
Guest: Mahsa Ali Mardani (Associate Director, Technology Threats and Opportunities, Witness)

Overview

This episode examines the role of Internet connectivity, media blackout, and disinformation in Iran amid recent protests. Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Mahsa Ali Mardani, an expert in digital rights and documentation, about how Iranian authorities leverage Internet shutdowns and manipulation of information as a tool of repression. The conversation explores the evolution of censorship tactics, citizen journalism, external interventions like Starlink, and the long-term implications of lost collective memory in the digital age.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Immediate Context: Protest and Blackout

• Violent anti-government protests erupted in Tehran amid high inflation and economic crisis at the end of 2025 ([00:12]).
• By January 8, 2026, the Iranian government initiated the country's longest national Internet blackout to date to stifle organization and international witness ([00:35]).
• The blackout lasted nearly three weeks, stalling the flow of protest documentation and fostering a fog of disinformation ([00:59], [01:25]).

Notable Quote:
“The Internet shutdowns is just one layer of what they do to ensure that the power to witness, the power to document, is extremely difficult.”
— Mahsa Ali Mardani [01:25]

2. Historical Roots of Censorship and Blackouts

• Iran’s first significant attempt at a global shutdown occurred in 2009, reacting to viral protest images, showing the regime’s early recognition of visual documentation as a threat ([01:38]-[01:57]).
• The infamous 2009 viral image of Neda Aga Sultan’s death became emblematic of oppression ([02:28]).
• By 2019, government tactics had escalated, deploying week-long Internet blackouts and intensified violence. Data on deaths is imprecise due to deliberate information suppression ([02:55]-[03:26]).

3. Sources of Truth: Citizen Documentation Amid Censorship

• Reliable on-the-ground journalism and fact-finding are nearly impossible; most accurate information comes from:
  • Anonymous citizen-run social media accounts, e.g., Vahid Online on Twitter ([03:43]).
  • Fact-checking organizations (e.g., BBC Verify, Harana) independently verify and document available footage and casualties ([03:43]-[04:53]).
• Registered deaths vary widely: Medical sources report up to 30,000; human rights orgs like Harana confirm around 6,500 with 12,000 cases still under review ([04:53]).
• Trauma and fear drive many families to silence, making documentation more difficult ([05:24]).

Notable Quote:
“Through my own personal networks, I’ve heard of families that are so traumatized and so frightened by the process of just retrieving their loved ones bodies that they refuse to talk to anyone.”
— Mahsa Ali Mardani [05:24]

4. Circumventing Blackouts: Starlink’s Impact

• Iranians use various strategies to access the Internet during shutdowns; recently Starlink has provided a rare lifeline ([05:52]).
• Starlink was crucial during the blackout for allowing some protest documentation to reach the outside world ([06:18]).

Notable Quote:
“During the weeks of the blackout in Iran, Starlink was the only way that documentation was coming out. Without that window, it would have just been what the regime was saying…”
— Mahsa Ali Mardani [06:18]

• State-friendly media like Al Jazeera heavily reinforced regime narratives during the blackout, further highlighting the value of independent citizen access ([07:20]).

5. Disinformation and the “Liar’s Dividend”

• The “Liar’s Dividend”: The existence and awareness of deepfakes and AI manipulation allows regimes to sow doubt on any documentation, even authentic evidence ([08:02]-[08:22]).
• Case study: The “Tankman” video — AI-edited protest footage was weaponized by the regime to dismiss genuine documentation as conspiratorial fakes ([09:29]-[10:17]).
• Regime-linked manipulation and “false flag” social media accounts further muddy the waters, seeding doubt about protest authenticity ([10:49]-[12:00]).

Notable Quotes:
“Just the notion that people are aware or worried about AI or deep fakes creates this ability to cast doubt and be able to be a benefit to someone who wants to deny the truth.”
— Mahsa Ali Mardani [08:22]

“Don’t screw with an original piece, because then the government could say, look, look, this has clearly been doctored.”
— Brooke Gladstone [09:58]

6. Systemic Internet Control: The "Barracks Internet"

• The Iranian regime is formalizing a system to offer unrestricted Internet only to elites, pushing most citizens onto a censored intranet (“Barracks Internet”) ([12:38]).
• Tiered access has existed for years; government officials continue using global platforms like Twitter while denying access to ordinary Iranians ([13:06]-[13:31]).
• Implementation involves ISP-level cooperation and political compliance, exemplified by the firing of non-compliant network executives ([13:38]).

7. Reimagining Digital Infrastructure and Human Rights

• Even stable democracies must confront the reality that the Internet is embedded in government infrastructure, making full control technically possible ([14:12]-[14:46]).
• Satellite Internet and direct-to-cell connectivity may provide future avenues for resistance, but equitable and rights-based mechanisms are needed ([14:46]-[16:08]).

Notable Quote:
“Not just relying on one company, but creating these human rights mechanisms where you have concrete commitments by the satellite operators to turn these services on in these very high-stakes contexts is really essential.”
— Mahsa Ali Mardani [15:41]

8. Collective Memory and the Power of Witnessing

• Reference to the 1988 mass executions: A “collective forgetfulness” within Iran, enabled by lack of documentation and suppression ([16:08]-[16:30]).
• The Internet’s unique capacity to generate lasting, global collective memory threatens authoritarian regimes ([17:16]).

Notable Quote:
“That is one of the things that speaks to the power of the Internet, the way that we can document and witness atrocities. It is a massive threat to regimes like the Islamic Republic because it is this collective memory…”
— Mahsa Ali Mardani [17:16]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On trauma’s cost: “Families that are so traumatized and so frightened... refuse to talk to anyone. They’re so scared to put their children’s names on any sort of documentation.” ([05:24])
• On the ‘liar’s dividend’: “Just the notion that people are aware or worried about AI or deep fakes creates this ability to cast doubt…” ([08:22])
• On Starlink’s necessity: “Starlink was the only way that documentation was coming out. Without that window, it would have just been what the regime was saying…” ([06:18])
• On collective memory: “That is one of the things that speaks to the power of the Internet, the way that we can document and witness atrocities.” ([17:16])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:35 — Iran's Internet blackout and its objectives
• 01:25 — How shutdowns impede documentation and witnessing
• 02:28 — The viral image of Neda Aga Sultan
• 03:43 — Where trustworthy information comes from
• 05:52 — The Internet “cat-and-mouse” and Starlink’s utility
• 08:02 — The regime’s use of the “liar’s dividend”
• 09:29 — The “Tankman” case and dangers of AI artifacts
• 12:38 — “Barracks Internet” and tiered access system
• 14:46 — How to reimagine digital infrastructure to resist control
• 16:08 — The fading of collective memory and documentation’s importance

Conclusion

This episode offers a nuanced, detailed portrait of how Iran’s government leverages Internet blackouts and disinformation to hide mass repression, and how digital tools—while imperfect—are lifelines for truth and collective memory. Mardani’s insights underscore both the peril and promise of Internet technologies in repressive regimes, and stress the global imperative to create resilient channels for documentation and witnessing in the digital age.