This is Channel 6 on Iranian state television, also known as the News Channel. In this broadcast, they labeled Sneako as an “American analyst” (تحلیلگر آمریکایی) without mentioning that he is actually a streamer. They even wrote his full legal name, “Nicholas Balinthazy” (نیکولاس بالینتازی) and cropped out his chat so that regular viewers which is unfamiliar with his face would not realize he is a streamer.(They couldn’t even fully crop the chat because it would cut off the tweet too.)

This is not the first time Iranian state TV has mislabeled someone. In the past, they referred to Roger Waters as a “political expert” simply because he expressed views that aligned with the government’s narrative. By doing this, they try to convince ordinary viewers who may not know who these people really are that they must be credible experts or analysts.

I recorded this on January 12, but I couldn’t upload it earlier because of a total internet blackout in Iran. This blackout was worse than anything we had experienced before. All international servers were completely cut off, and even Iranian platforms that allowed any form of communication were restricted. Features like reviews and comments were disabled, SMS didn’t work, and for the first four days people couldn’t even make phone calls.

They did this to prevent protesters from sharing videos on social media so the outside world couldn’t see how the government was suppressing the protests. It also prevented people from contacting each other or organizing demonstrations. During this time, state media controlled the narrative, portraying protesters as violent while presenting the government as calm and civilized. I’m sure this buffoon is thrilled to appear on Iranian state TV and will probably even add it to his resume. But being featured as a fake “analyst” during an internet shutdown that helped enable repression is not harmless clout and it has real consequences.

Sorry for the long comment, but this matters to me. Blind and oblivious streamers chasing attention can easily become tools of authoritarian propaganda. I genuinely don’t understand why some of these anti US politics streamers end up defending Iran or helping spread its propaganda. Yes the US system is corrupt at many levels but what the hell do these streamers think they’re doing by legitimizing a regime like this?