# Censorship detected in IR

**Country:** 🇮🇷 Iran (IR)
**Date:** 2026-08-16
**Type:** Censorship
**Severity:** CRITICAL
**Status:** suspected

## Summary

None

## Metrics

- Confidence: 90%
- Measurements: 16
- Anomaly Rate: 100.0%

## Evidence

- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 33/33 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=signal&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI whatsapp: 34/34 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=whatsapp&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 37/37 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=telegram&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 34/36 measurements anomalous (94.4%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 34/37 measurements anomalous (91.9%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=signal&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI whatsapp: 29/32 measurements anomalous (90.6%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 86%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=whatsapp&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 32/35 measurements anomalous (91.4%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=telegram&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 27/35 measurements anomalous (77.1%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 81%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 36/36 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=signal&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI whatsapp: 34/34 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=whatsapp&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 36/36 measurements anomalous (100.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=telegram&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 28/36 measurements anomalous (77.8%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 81%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 30/32 measurements anomalous (93.8%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=signal&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI whatsapp: 31/33 measurements anomalous (93.9%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=whatsapp&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI telegram: 30/32 measurements anomalous (93.8%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 88%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=telegram&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 28/33 measurements anomalous (84.8%)
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 84%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=IR&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-08-16&until=2026-08-17&only=anomalies)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 13/13 probes anomalous (100.0%) for bbc.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 28/28 probes anomalous (100.0%) for chat.openai.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 31/31 probes anomalous (100.0%) for chatgpt.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 29/29 probes anomalous (100.0%) for claude.ai
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 13/13 probes anomalous (100.0%) for facebook.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 34/34 probes anomalous (100.0%) for gemini.google.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 18/18 probes anomalous (100.0%) for getlantern.org
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 16/16 probes anomalous (100.0%) for google.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 30/30 probes anomalous (100.0%) for huggingface.co
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 13/13 probes anomalous (100.0%) for instagram.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 28/28 probes anomalous (100.0%) for medium.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 31/31 probes anomalous (100.0%) for nytimes.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 34/34 probes anomalous (100.0%) for openai.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 15/15 probes anomalous (100.0%) for protonvpn.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 26/26 probes anomalous (100.0%) for psiphon.ca
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 18/18 probes anomalous (100.0%) for reddit.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 12/12 probes anomalous (100.0%) for signal.org
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 27/27 probes anomalous (100.0%) for substack.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 14/14 probes anomalous (100.0%) for telegram.org
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 35/35 probes anomalous (100.0%) for theguardian.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 15/15 probes anomalous (100.0%) for tiktok.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 14/14 probes anomalous (100.0%) for tumblr.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 13/13 probes anomalous (100.0%) for twitter.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 21/21 probes anomalous (100.0%) for whatsapp.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)
- **CENSOREDPLANET** (dns-probe): DNS blocking detected: 20/20 probes anomalous (100.0%) for youtube.com
  - Observed: 2026-08-16
  - Confidence: 90%
  - [CensoredPlanet raw-data portal (no per-measurement permalink)](https://data.censoredplanet.org)

## 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.
- **A confirmed duration** — we report the observation window, not a verified start/stop of any block.
- **Sub-national scope** — measurement is aggregated at the country level; we cannot localize to a province, city, or network segment.

## Data Sources

ooni, censoredplanet

## Citation

Voidly Research. (2026). Censorship detected in IR [IR-2026-2369]. Retrieved from https://voidly.ai/incident/IR-2026-2369

---
*Report generated by Voidly Research on 2026-08-17*
*Data licensed under CC BY 4.0*
*Incident ID: IR-2026-2369*
*Permalink: https://voidly.ai/incident/IR-2026-2369*