Iran's Internet: Whirlpool and fear

gerdabWhile the world is trying to free the web, Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is going to make it much more barred. Recently, a site which is called Gerdab (Whirlpool) has been launched in order to monitor the Iranian Internet according to the IRGC’s dogmatic ideologies and strategies.

Gerdab gathered a professional team to observe the internet. It is aimed to catch opposition web sites and blogs by reporting and/or undermining them. This will constitute an unprecedented threat for the safety and security of Iranian bloggers and another disturbing step to undermine online free speech .

As Gerdab claims, there should be in Iran no place for web sites and blogs that do not toe the line of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, it is also pointed out that, after Iran's rigged election, some of the regime's privacy policies have been adapted, in an attempt to introduce a new system that hides its abuses.

Gerdab strongly stands against western ideologies. It is opposed to all kind of social networking websites such as facebook and twitter, perceived as tools conspiring to topple the regime. Moreover, by articulating a rather negative perception of the Internet, Gerdab claimes that they “we want to filter the internet in order to keep our youths clean and pure from vices.”

Gerdab noted that Western countries such as the United State and Israel are using the Internet as a tool to change people’s minds. It also claims that by focusing on Iran's internal affaires, they're strategies of using the Internet is aimed at destabilizing the country and toppling the regime.Therefor, Gerdab urges the Iranian Internet users to be very careful and not publish their critical opinions on the Net.

Generally, it can be seen that Gerdab website is running to create a climate of public fear and anxiety in order to control the use of the Internet by the people. It has too many articles to bash people about the internet and its negative effects on daily life.

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