The New York Times shatters the propaganda myth of an Iranian popular uprising
A rare correction from a major outlet—and a turning point in the discourse on Iran
From “Uprising” to Orchestration: The Story the West Spent Months Selling—and Why It’s Falling Apart
Of all outlets, The New York Times is now admitting something long dismissed as a “conspiracy theory”: the protests in Iran at the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026 were not a spontaneous popular uprising but part of a targeted strategy by foreign actors.
The demonstrations, which initially broke out in Tehran at the end of December 2025, began peacefully and were largely driven by the Bazaaris—the traders and shopkeepers of the Grand Bazaar. The trigger was the massive loss in value of the Iranian rial, which made procuring and selling goods extremely difficult or in some cases nearly impossible. Before long, other groups joined in, including students, leading to protests spreading nationwide—initially still largely peaceful.
Western media, however, described the movement early on as a significant uprising: The Guardian spoke of “the largest nationwide uprising in years.” The Wall Street Journal called the events a “popular uprising” in several articles. The New York Times referred to them as “the country’s largest uprising in decades.”
German-language media used similarly dramatic terms: the Neue Zürcher Zeitung ran the headline “Popular uprising in the realm of darkness” and reported on an “uprising from the bazaar.” Deutschlandfunk repeatedly spoke of an “uprising”—already the fourth within eight years—and used terms such as “insurgents.” Der Spiegel labeled the events a “historic uprising” and speculated whether this could be the “final act of the Islamic Republic.” Die Presse also used the term “uprising” clearly and unambiguously.
Three years before, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz uncovered a network of Israeli contractors operating a cyber group that provided hacking, disinformation, and election-manipulation services to clients around the world. The investigation detailed how the group deployed bot networks, data breaches, and covert influence campaigns to disrupt political processes in multiple countries—tactics similar to those widely used in Iran to shape public opinion both domestically and abroad.
What also went unmentioned in Western reporting was that, according to its own statements, the Mossad and, according to comments by former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, foreign actors had blended into the demonstrations.
Likewise omitted was that, according to various Israeli media reports, a certain state is said to have armed demonstrators. Indeed, the initially peaceful protests turned into violent unrest in which police stations, mosques, and other facilities were attacked or destroyed—even ambulances were set on fire. Also concealed by the aforementioned media was the fact that the attack on the Iranian currency, which had triggered the protests in the first place, was, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, driven from the outside.
The findings of The New York Times from March 22, 2026
According to reporting by The New York Times on March 22, 2026, as well as related international media coverage, the following picture emerges:
1. Mossad put forward a plan to trigger internal unrest
Even before the start of the larger conflict, Mossad chief David Barnea is said to have presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a plan aimed at deliberately igniting unrest in Iran.
The hope: mass protests could weaken or even topple the Iranian government.
This proposal was also presented to senior U.S. government officials in mid-January 2026.
2. The strategy did not lead to the expected uprising
According to the reports, the plan did not work as expected.
Contrary to the assumption that opposition forces in Iran would rise up en masse at the beginning of the war, a nationwide uprising did not materialize.
Iranian authorities were able to maintain control.
3. Expectations were closely tied to the initial phases of the war
The idea was that after initial airstrikes and targeted attacks on Iranian leadership, large parts of the population would transition into protests or uprisings.
According to the reports, frustration is now growing among U.S. and Israeli decision-makers because this chain of events did not occur.
That it is precisely The New York Times—a paper that traditionally reports critically on Iran and supports Israeli positions—now acknowledging that this was not a spontaneous popular uprising exposes the broader Western media landscape for what it fundamentally is: a propaganda apparatus that produces, reproduces, and disseminates political narratives.
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Read my article
The Architecture of a Crisis Manufactured by Hostile Foreign Powers
An exclusive evidence-based exposé on the hidden forces, intelligence networks, and propaganda machinery fueling turmoil in Iran.
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Felix Abt is an entrepreneur, author and travel blogger living in Asia.
With his articles, he tries to make a modest contribution to debunking the omnipresent propaganda of the mainstream media for those who don’t have the time (and that’s most people) to do the research to see through it.