Despite Twitter and other social media being blocked by the Iranian government for all citizens, the country’s labor minister has now subscribed to Twitter Blue.

Twitter Blue is an opt-in, paid subscription that adds a blue checkmark to the account and offers early access to select features, like Edit Tweet.

Seyyed Solat Mortazavi, won a vote of confidence to become the Raisi administrations’ labor and social welfare minister in October 2022.

He replaced Hojjat Abdolmaleki who resigned in June 2022 under pressure from the media and the parliament as weeks of protests by pensioners and teachers across the country threatened political stability.

As protests in Iran began in mid-September 2022, the government blocked Instagram, the only international social media platform people were allowed to use.

Other platforms including Facebook and Twitter were banned after the 2009 presidential election and Telegram in the aftermath of the November 2019 protests.

Despite the bans, Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are present on Twitter and some have more than one account on every platform. Ordinary Iranians also continue to use social media apps by paying for VPNs [Virtual Private Networks] that allow them to circumvent the ban. However, high-level officials have unrestricted internet access.

Social media has revolutionized the authoritarian information space in Iran. The government has lost its monopoly on information and desperately tries to control the Internet. Social media has become a town square where citizens gather to criticize and berate the clerical regime.