# Sustained censorship in IQ (2026-05)

**Country:** 🇮🇶 Iraq (IQ)
**Date:** 2026-05-01
**Type:** Censorship
**Severity:** CRITICAL
**Status:** confirmed

## Summary

OONI detected 34 days of elevated network interference averaging 94.6% anomaly rate.

## Metrics

- Confidence: 85%
- Measurements: 34
- Anomaly Rate: 94.6%

## Evidence

- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 8/14 measurements anomalous (57.1%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-09
  - Confidence: 73%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-09&until=2026-05-09&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 15/16 measurements anomalous (93.8%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-09
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-09&until=2026-05-09&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 13/15 measurements anomalous (86.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-08
  - Confidence: 85%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-08&until=2026-05-08&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 11/13 measurements anomalous (84.6%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-08
  - Confidence: 84%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-08&until=2026-05-08&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 14/15 measurements anomalous (93.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-08
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-08&until=2026-05-08&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 20/21 measurements anomalous (95.2%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-08
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-08&until=2026-05-08&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 13/13 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-07
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-07&until=2026-05-07&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 11/12 measurements anomalous (91.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-07
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-07&until=2026-05-07&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 12/13 measurements anomalous (92.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-07
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-07&until=2026-05-07&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 8/8 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-07
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-07&until=2026-05-07&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 11/14 measurements anomalous (78.6%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-06
  - Confidence: 81%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-06&until=2026-05-06&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 18/20 measurements anomalous (90.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-06
  - Confidence: 86%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-06&until=2026-05-06&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 12/13 measurements anomalous (92.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-06
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-06&until=2026-05-06&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 10/10 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-06
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-06&until=2026-05-06&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 10/10 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-05
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-05&until=2026-05-05&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 14/14 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-05
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-05&until=2026-05-05&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 14/14 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-05
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-05&until=2026-05-05&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 13/13 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-05
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-05&until=2026-05-05&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 16/17 measurements anomalous (94.1%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-04
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-04&until=2026-05-04&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 18/18 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-04
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-04&until=2026-05-04&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 11/11 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-04
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-04&until=2026-05-04&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 10/11 measurements anomalous (90.9%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-04
  - Confidence: 86%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-04&until=2026-05-04&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 13/13 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-03
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-03&until=2026-05-03&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 30/30 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-03
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-03&until=2026-05-03&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 16/16 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-03
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-03&until=2026-05-03&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 18/18 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-03
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-03&until=2026-05-03&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 14/14 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-02
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-02&until=2026-05-02&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 24/24 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-02
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-02&until=2026-05-02&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 17/18 measurements anomalous (94.4%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-02
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-02&until=2026-05-02&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 11/12 measurements anomalous (91.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-02
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-02&until=2026-05-02&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 14/14 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-01
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-01&until=2026-05-01&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 15/15 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-01
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-01&until=2026-05-01&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 8/8 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-01
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-01&until=2026-05-01&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 10/11 measurements anomalous (90.9%)
  - Observed: 2026-05-01
  - Confidence: 86%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IQ&test_name=telegram&since=2026-05-01&until=2026-05-01&only=anomalies)

## What we cannot say

- **Who caused it** — measurement data alone does not attribute the interference to any government, ISP, or other actor.
- **Intent** — anomalous or unreachable measurements indicate interference, not a stated motive or a deliberate-vs-incidental determination.
- **Which networks** — no specific ASN/ISP is identified for this incident.
- **The mechanism** — we cannot state whether this was DNS tampering, TLS/SNI reset, HTTP blockpage, throttling, or an infrastructure outage.
- **Sub-national scope** — measurement is aggregated at the country level; we cannot localize to a province, city, or network segment.
- **Independent corroboration** — this rests on a single source; treat it as a single-source signal, not a multi-source confirmation.

## Data Sources

ooni

## Citation

Voidly Research. (2026). Sustained censorship in IQ (2026-05) [IQ-2026-0197]. Retrieved from https://voidly.ai/incident/IQ-2026-0197

---
*Report generated by Voidly Research on 2026-06-21*
*Data licensed under CC BY 4.0*
*Incident ID: IQ-2026-0197*
*Permalink: https://voidly.ai/incident/IQ-2026-0197*