Political protest on the Persian Twittersphere: Examining the dichotomy of World Cup framing by the Iranian regime’s proponents and opponents

Abstract

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, players on Iran's national team avoided singing the national anthem before their first match. This was interpreted as an expression of solidarity with the ongoing protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman arrested for opposing the country's mandatory hijab requirements. This study focuses on how regular users and government propaganda social media accounts sought to shape the political and sporting narratives surrounding these protests. A total of 20,470 tweets and 33,535 frames composed the sample, revealing stark differences between anti-regime and pro-regime communities in nearly all frames, except for a frame combining football and international politics. The implications of protest framing and the use of social media as a form of resistance and reinterpretation are discussed.