US yanks funds for anti-Iran Twitter feed after complaints
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says it’s suspended funding for an online project aimed at fighting Iranian disinformation after it tweeted harsh criticism of individual human rights workers, academics and journalists, some of whom are U.S. citizens.
The department says the work done by @IranDisinfo largely conformed to the guidelines it laid out for projects it funds to counter foreign government propaganda. But, it says it suspended the funding after identifying recent tweets that fell outside its guidelines. It says funding won’t resume until the contractor responsible for the account ensures that any future activity is within the project’s scope.
The suspension was announced Friday after several Iranian-American activists targeted by @IranDisinfo pointed out what they called online harassment by a U.S. government-linked account.
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