Iran controls information by jamming high-tech

SAN FRANCISCO — In a recent speech on Internet freedom, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called online organizing a "critical tool for advancing democracy" in Iran.

The majority of Iranians, however, do not have access to this tool, and instead are fed an alternative reality professionally crafted by the state broadcaster.

For the sizeable segment of Iran's population without access to satellite television and the Internet, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has created an alternative reality populated by three archetypes: the Islamic nation of Iran, the Great Satan (America), and the few enemies of the Islamic nation inside Iran who take their orders from the Great Satan.

This caricature would be an amusing were it not for the oppressive machine that it helps nurture and maintain.

The control of information has become near complete in recent months. The only way to counter this control is through another medium that is readily accessible by the still large provincial and conservative underclass.

Demonstrations on Dec. 30, 2009, during which this subsection of the population was brought onto the streets of Tehran by bus from surrounding provinces, provide a good case in point. Sandwiches, cake and orange juice were offered to keep them happy during the state-orchestrated demonstrations.

It is important that any change in Iran, if it does occur, does not leave Iran's poor, less educated and religious underclass dissatisfied. Recent experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan show that administration or regime change can lead disgruntled fundamentalist groups to take their revenge on their own compatriots, mostly through terrorism.

A number of pundits have taken to calling the massive demonstrations that have occurred since the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June the "Twitter Revolution." Ultimately, however, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are great tools for getting news out of the country, but they are useless for getting news and information into Iran.

According to some domestic sources, only 10 percent of Iranians have access to the Internet; even the most optimistic guess puts the figure at 35 percent. Certainly, only 2 percent of the population has access to high-speed Internet.

Meanwhile, 40 percent of Iranians have access to satellite TV.

There are ways to break through the government's monopoly on information, however, and they are decidedly low-tech.