A video capturing Israel’s U.N. Ambassador, Danny Danon, offering a Starlink device to an Iranian representative has gone viral, gathering around 9 million views across social media platforms. Analytics showed that nearly 40% of the views on Instagram came from Iran, a surprising reach for Israeli diplomatic content.
A representative from Danon’s office expressed surprise over the video’s popularity inside Iran, noting that such an audience is unusual. The encounter stemmed from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address at the U.N. General Assembly. In his speech, Netanyahu featured a Starlink device and delivered a message aimed at the Iranian people. Following the speech, Danon approached an Iranian delegate to offer the device, an interaction captured on video. The Iranian representative declined to accept it.
After Danon posted the exchange online, it quickly gained widespread attention. The analytics revealed that 39.9% of Instagram viewers were located in Iran. This was followed by the United States at 14.3%, Israel at 12.6%, Canada at 5.9%, and Germany at 4.1%.
According to Danon’s representative, the large Iranian viewership was significant. They deemed the message of freedom and expression for the Iranian people as crucial. However, as the video spread, other trends surfaced online. Accounts believed to be Iranian began circulating an older video of former Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan. This video showed Erdan being escorted from the General Assembly during a protest against then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The video, dating back to September 2023, was portrayed as a current event.
Danon’s office characterized the circulation of the old video as a “disinformation campaign” aimed at shifting focus from Danon’s clip. They argued that the campaign intended to alter the narrative surrounding the attention drawn by Danon’s video.
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