Early Iranian Reactions to the Israeli Attacks

Since Israel began its major bombardment of Iran one week ago, FilterLabs has been querying and analyzing online content from our collection of geo-located, Farsi-language data sources from Iran for clues into how Iranians may be responding, and what impacts the conflict may have on their views.

In closed, authoritarian countries like Iran, public sentiment—particularly when it is not flattering to those in power, or when it surrounds a sensitive topic—is difficult to assess. One powerful way of gaining insights, though, is to collect large, varied samples of the area’s information environment and use AI to identify shifts in sentiment, volume, or narratives on key topics over time. Shifts in any of these signals—whether they prove to be driven by propaganda bot activity, coordinated government messaging, or organic changes in the local discourse about a topic—provide signposts that can show analysts where something has changed and guide further investigation into the discourse.

In our investigation of news media, messaging platforms, and social media sources from Iran, we found a number of interesting trends that are worth watching as the situation unfolds. Of note: While expressions of unity, patriotism, and faith in government abounded in the information environment and remained high after the attacks began, there was less consistent positivity—and a small but detectable increase in negative discourse—around Iran’s Supreme Leader, especially in the initial days after the attacks. 

You can investigate the live version of the chart above, as well as other charts from our Iran research this week, on our Talisman dashboard “Israel's Bombing of Iran: Insights from the Iranian Information Environment.” All Talisman subscribers (including those with a free Talisman Basic account) can view the charts; those with full platform access can dig deeper into the underlying artifacts and view additional visualizations of the data.