The country has blocked access to an Instagram page that was revealing the lifestyle of young elite living in Tehran, which stirred indignation and spawned a rival website on how the majority live. The account Richkidsoftehran, created last month on the most popular photo-sharing service, attracted 97,000 followers. Its creators were saying they wanted to show the world a different image of Iran from the stereotypes in the west.



The photo gallery of the account showed luxury things: cars (Ferraris, Maseratis), watches and mansions in upmarket northern Tehran. The comments stated that this was all the “accessories a Persian boy needs”. Moreover, Instagram feed also showed parties and women in western dress, although Iran has ban on alcohol, and women there are obliged to wear headscarves.

However, the Instagram page was blocked due to its “vulgar” content last week. This is what weblognews.ir, a news website considered close to Islamic conservatives, claimed. Negative comments to the photos claimed that those shows were for the people empty inside and willing to fill that emptiness by showing off. Later, the Instagram account was frozen by its users, featuring an explanation that it has been closed down due to the high amount of false publicity. The same note is seen on its Twitter page. Richkidsoftehran also has had a page on Facebook since the beginning of October, but this social network, along with Twitter and YouTube, is blocked in the country on the grounds that it undermines Islamic values.

The account was online for a few weeks only, but attracted much attention ¬– aside from almost 100,000 followers, it also received negative feedback from the local media. For example, Hafte-Sobh newspaper took aim at young elite who stubbornly and with the backup of their wealth was living its own special way of life. Other newspapers criticized in the same way: Taadol newspaper poured scorn on “nouveau riche who cropped up like mushrooms” over the last decade, namely during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013).

In the meantime, the rival website, poorkidsoftehran, benefited from the activity of their rich counterparts: for instance, instead of featuring a Porsche, they posted the keys of a Saipa Pride – one of the cheapest cars on the local market.