To wonder why the mainstream media is not reporting the massive anti-regime protests in Iran?

MN isn't policing threads unless posters don't adhere to their rules. In any case why shouldn't people who are not based in the UK have access to MN? What subsection are you referring to that is a 'propaganda exercise' exactly?

Why would MN not welcome posters who are not based in England? Sounds a bit racist (& particularly harsh to people based in the rest of the UK) if that a red flag, and I say that as someone who IS based in England.

“Keeping an eye” and then what? Delete comments/ threads that criticise BBC/ Islamic extremism/ certain left wing positions?

I think they should be keeping an eye on the proliferation of posters who:

• are not based in england
• consistently push an anti- Islam agenda (I despise the Iranian regime but there is a difference between that and anti Islamic narratives)
• push an anti bbc agenda
• support Trump to the extent of arguing that ICE can kill people when they want
• are anti - Palestine and somehow manage to shoehorn Gaza in as a comparison left right and centre
• characterise ‘left wingers’ as a monolithic enemy and make bonkers claims about what ‘left wingers’ do and think
• start goad threads

What exactly would you expect MN to do?

I don't need to give you any 'specific examples.' Did you miss that both the Director General and CEO of BBC News both resigned (before they were sacked)? Something is abundantly wrong at the BBC.

The BBC has the same journalism standards to adhere to it always has done, it’s answerable to OfCom and DCMS and when they feel the standards haven’t been met, which does happen and the DG, Chair and others are often called to give evidence at a Public Accounts committee.

Can you give specific examples of drops in standards where they haven’t been questioned at a committee or by Ofcom?

MN believes in free speech as long as people follow the site rules such as debating without resorting to personal attacks.

There is no anti BBC agenda. TV News for example no longer adheres to the rigorous journalism that once made them the pride of the world. Enough with your conspiracy theory.

This is just tripe clearly pushing an anti BBC agenda. I don’t know why mumsnet is not taking the efforts of people trying to manufacture a narrative on the site more seriously.

While you are obviously entitled to your opinion I disagree. I am not on the right at all but can no longer do more than skim the Guardian as it is most definitely left wing (whether they support socialism or not).

So liberal centrism doesn't exist for you?

Left wing in the UK does not generally mean socialist but left of centre.

The Guardian is an example of left wing, the Telegraph is an example of right wing (right of centre).

The Guardian does not support socialism - a prerequisite to being left wing. All it's editorials are centrist. I get that they can seem left wing to those firmly on the right.

I meant the algorithms impact on what stories show high up wherever you get your news.

News sites use algorithms to recommend you you news that they think you will be interested in. Obviously news aggregators and social media uses algorithms.

Great post

I think it's the attention economy. All kinds of papers feel the need for headline grabbing, polemical content to get more clicks, rather than context-heavy, balanced articles.

I read a good article on how this has affected book reviewing a while ago, I'll see if I can find it. It mentioned how sometimes reviews have shifted more towards clickbaity takedowns and hatchet jobs rather than more considered pieces.

Exactly. I really don't know why they still try to keep that stance because at least judging by trans UK reddit, many TRAs still see them as 'transphobic' for platforming Sonia Sodha, Julie Bindel, in the past Hadley Freeman & Suzanne Moore etc & reviewing Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie well etc

Sadly, they have lost lots of women readers because they are TWAW - another men's rights movement.

So..the Independent began covering it early on in late December, continued from early January.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/protest-iran-tehran-ali-khamenei-b2892267.html&ved=2ahUKEwimh4yE1YGSAxUfTUEAHT14PaY4HhAWegQIKhAB&usg=AOvVaw0ba_<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?opi=89978449&rct=j&sa=t&source=web&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Fmiddle-east%2Fprotest-iran-tehran-ali-khamenei-b2892267.html&usg=AOvVaw0ba<u>gYR3uglamVxFo</u>FtnL&ved=2ahUKEwimh4yE1YGSAxUfTUEAHT14PaY4HhAWegQIKhAB" rel="nofollow" target="blank">gYR3uglamVxFoFtnL

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-protests-economy-deaths-b2893346.html&ved=2ahUKEwi1vZOj1YGSAxUFUUEAHXocO60QFnoECCAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3z7wzB12afjfMmmkfJy042

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/iran-protests-tehran-cost-of-living-crisis-b2892421.html&ved=2ahUKEwiZ2rmr1YGSAxU2U0EAHZHdK7QQFnoECEMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw17zpWy9QGIOkkUv70nd31

The Observer was covering it 6 days ago, of course they're a weekend paper so there is less https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=observer.co.uk/news/international/article/defiance-in-iran-if-we-want-the-regime-out-we-cant-back-down&ved=2ahUKEwjS-uLV1YGSAxW4UkEAHUwOI-EQFnoECB4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw11FcmOHIeSSb8ilJg1Jx-

Not as far as I can see, at least not recently. It's possible to piece together from many months of articles (possibly years) but if someone asked me to send them an article which clearly explains why the collapse of the regime matters to the average person in the UK, I don't think I'd have anything to share (possibly some youtube videos but not from the MSM).

Which is a shame because lots more people might engage with the news if it covered topics in a way that felt less like propaganda (from all different perspectives) and instead helped them actually understand the issues without assuming loads of prior knowledge about the economic/political/geographic/social context (I would certainly appreciate it). The BBC used to be good at this.

I need to check this but Grok claims that the Independent, the Observer, & the Economist all covered the protests from when they started in December.

If so, this doesn't fit with the left wing legacy media not covering due to being too woke.

Is it true that these left wing outlets covered it the way Grok says?

The Independent (often seen as center-left but mainstream): They jumped on it immediately. Articles appeared as early as December 29, 2025 (e.g., on traders/shopkeepers protesting the currency plunge and strikes), December 30 (major protests and government seeking dialogue), and continued daily into January 2026 with timelines, death toll updates, and analysis. They explicitly noted the start date as December 28 in multiple pieces, including timelines and live updates.
The Observer (Sunday sister paper to The Guardian, left-leaning): Coverage ties into The Guardian's timeline, with reports emerging by December 30-31, 2025 (e.g., president calling for talks on demands from currency/living standards decline). The Guardian itself published on December 30 (widespread dissent) and December 31 ("We want the mullahs gone" on biggest protests since 2022), framing the economic roots and rapid spread.
The Economist (centrist/liberal, highly respected globally): They covered developments in their "world in brief" sections and features starting early January 2026, but referenced the December 28 trigger in pieces like January 2 (regime looking rattled amid protests and external threats) and later analyses of escalation. While not always daily front-page news, their in-depth takes acknowledged the protests from the initial economic spark.

The Financial Times, The Telegraph & The Times all appear to have covered it from early on too. This doesn't fit with legacy media not covering it.

If the real issue is with the BBC, it's not accurate to criticise the coverage from all legacy media or left wing media.

Good post, plus the hostile state activities we are subject to.

I do think that is part of it, sadly. Similar to the Sudan conflict

That's true. In practice though, Buddhism did spread quite well from India to China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Tibet etc. It tended to blend with local traditions like Shintoism and Taoism rather than replace them, though.

Have right wing papers like The Telegraph & The Times been reporting these facets?