A social media account documenting the lives of Iran's purported rich youth has been shut down, possibly by the Iranian government.
The "Rich Kids of Tehran" Instagram account was created last month, quickly growing a fan base of over 98,000 followers. With photos of scantily clad young women, alcohol consumption and high-end cars, the account's manager said the intention was "to show the world what they don't see on newspapers and TV... To show the world the good side of Iran-Tehran, which I think everybody should see before they judge us."
Such a public display seems to have unsettled Iran's conservative Internet monitors. On Thursday, an affiliated Twitter page notified the public that both the "Rich Kids of Tehran" Instagram and Facebook accounts were "shut down due to false publicity."
While the Instagram account now bears a notice that "The page has currently been shut down due to the high amount of false publicity," a Facebook page entitled "Rich Kids of Tehran" that was established Oct. 6 and claims affiliation with the Instagram site still appears.
Last month, an Iranian court sentenced seven young Iranians arrested in May for making a Pharrell Williams' "Happy" fan video. The seven were given suspended sentences of prison time and 91 lashes.
Shortly after the video was posted online, Tehran Police Chief Hossein Sajedinia ordered the arrests of those involved for making an "obscene video clip that offended the public morals and was released in cyberspace." Iranian officials released them on bail after their arrests and after forcing the filmmakers to apologize publicly.
