Meidoon Watch Report (April/May, 2015)

The month at a glance

In Meidoon’s analysis of April-May 2015, coinciding with the second month of the Iranian year (Ordibehesht) we had a look at the most engaging content, as shared, liked, and commented on Facebook.

See full infographic here: https://asl19.org/meidoon-watch/may.pdf

The month was defined by a number of prominent stories on international and domestic fronts.

International news during this period was dominated by tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, ISIS’ advances into parts of Syria, and unrest inside Iran. On the domestic front, a number of notable stories occurred: Zarif’s controversial interview with Charlie Rose, Mahabad’s protests after the death of a Kurdish citizen, and the debate around the permit for inspecting military sites in Iran, as the deadline for the nuclear deal approaches.”

In detail

A year has almost passed since the ISIS phenomena has emerged in its full magnitude and stirred a fear in the minds of the public. News of ISIS’ advancement into the ancient city of Palmyra brought with it all the spine-chilling sentiments that came with their destruction of a number of world heritage sites, as they blazed through Iraq. News and Media kept a close watch on Palmyra, as ISIS slowly approached and took over the ancient city.

Iran Shahed set sail from the shores of Bandar Abbas, to the Yemeni port of Hudeida on May 11, supposedly carrying humanitarian aid, as well as journalists and activist. As the ship approached Yemen, Iranian authorities announced their defiance of the Saudi imposed regulation to search all ships entering Yemen’s waters. The existing tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the awkward position of the U.S. as an ally of Saudi Arabia in the airstrikes on Yemen, while also negotiating on the nuclear deal with Iran, led to the unfolding of a controversy for the days that followed. This was widely covered by domestic and international news agencies, pushing this story into the notable trends of April/May.

Inside Iran, a bizarre ending to the Persian Gulf League garnered much attention. Two games (Tractor vs Naft / Saipa vs Sepahan) played simultaneously to decide the first, second and third places of the league. It is reported that communication was cut in the stadium in which Tractor and Naft were playing, preventing the team and audience from finding out about Sepahan’s win, kilometres away in Isfahan (which would push them to second place, as opposed to first). At the end of their game, Tractor celebrated their victory, while commentators remained baffled and unable to explain the situation at hand. Minutes later the truth was revealed, and the mood took a sharp turn for the worst. Riots broke out in the stadium (note: communications were cut to prevent riots), and many injuries and much damages were incurred. By its sheer strange nature, this story got much attention inside and outside Iranian social media.

Distribution of Coverage for Media and News Agencies

More than half of the articles (287) in Meidoon’s 500 most engaging articles had a domestic focus, with the remainder of the links covering international stories.

In the top 500 articles, RadioFarda had the most even coverage of international and domestic news, with 53% of their 156 articles dedicated to Iran’s domestic news, and 46% focusing on international matters. 72% of BBC Persian’s articles were focused on international matters. On the other hand, articles from Fars News, a news agency based inside of Iran, mainly focused on domestic issues (86%). Other domestic news agencies demonstrated a similar coverage pattern , with more Iran related articles.

International and Domestic coverage by BBC Persian, Fars News and RadioFarda

For more…

You can view Meidoon Watch’s full infographic, summarizing the trends in the 500 most engaging articles of the month, here.

Written by Arta, Trend Analyst at ASL19, for meidoon.com : Joint project between the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and ASL19.