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Islamic Radios, TVs Union censures US media crackdown

Tuesday, 29 June 2021 6:04 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 29 June 2021 6:04 PM ]

Yusef Jalali

Press TV, Tehran

This is the 10th session of the Islamic Radios and Televisions Union. Hosted by the Iranian state broadcaster, the IRIB, the event brought together representatives of 300 television and radio channels from 36 member states, who attended the event through video conference.

This year, the session was held with the motto of Media Justice and Freedom of Speech. The tenth general assembly of the Islamic Radios and Televisions Union comes as the websites of several of its affiliated media outlets were seized by the US government; something which the union sees as an attempt to silence dissenting voices.

Last week, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation confiscated the websites of Press TV and three dozen other Iranian and regional media outlets for what it described as a means to combat disinformation. Addressing the ceremony in Tehran, Head of the IRIB, Abdol-Ali Ali-Askari, condemned the US move as an open violation of freedom of expression, calling it a failed attempt to muzzle the truth.

The Islamic Radios and Televisions Union is a multinational entity, which is currently comprised of 228 member media outlets from 33 countries, covering a total of 22 different languages. The main goal of the union is to break the Western monopoly on media and to offer an alternative narrative for regional and global developments as opposed to the narrative presented by mainstream media.

The Union says the west has engaged itself in a full scale media war to silence the alternative voices. Head of the IRIB World Service, Peyman Jebelli, says the west can no longer pull the plug on the resistance media, since they have already reached global audience, including western societies.

The Islamic Radios and Televisions Union says any attempt by the west to take down independent media is doomed to failure and they will continue to shed light on the truth. However, member media outlets say they will sue the US for its illegal media crackdown and will take measures to restore the seized websites.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk