Ariana Afshar and TikTok Activism
Ariana Jasmine Afshar is a second-generation Iranian American woman. Previously known as @theprogressivebrat, Ariana, as a Gen Z activist, has come with an era of activism and sharing information through social media, primarily through TikTok and Twitch. And, as a Middle Eastern woman, she’s able to put her unique perspective in an often white-dominated social media and journalism space.
Afshar’s main focus in her journalism and activism is on stories and information that mainstream media doesn’t focus on or care about. After seeing her mother struggle for years with the broken healthcare system in a battle with cancer and feeling incredibly unfulfilled in a corporate job during COVID-19, Ariana realized that she had to speak up and devote her life to social justice. When she first started posting on TikTok in 2021, she spoke and shared on numerous issues within the United States, ranging from clips of the women’s march to coverage of the Uvalde school shooting.
However, this all changed in September 2022, when Mahsa Amini was murdered.
On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Jina Amini, a Kurdish woman in Iran, was brutally murdered by the Iranian morality police for “improper clothing” because her hijab showed too much hair. The morality police in Iran are notorious for being aggressive and horrific, especially with women. However, the murder of Mahsa exploded on social media and, for once, Western eyes saw the atrocities of the East and the thousands protesting on the streets in Iran at the risk of their life.
Ariana, however, faced an internal struggle on whether or not to post about the situation unfolding in Iran. On one hand, her parents frequently visited Iran and if she denounced the Iranian government, they wouldn’t be safe there. On the other hand, she felt it was her responsibility as an Iranian American woman to use her platform to magnify that voices of the Iranian people during this period of distress. Ariana, as an adolescent, had also been previously arrested by the morality police. When she was in 8th grade, her family moved to Iran for a year. During this time, she and a friend were caught and taken by the Iranian morality police for not wearing their hijabs correctly, escaping only because they were American citizens.
Knowing that it could have been her in Mahsa’s place (or in the place of countless other Iranian women who’d become victim of the morality police), Ariana chose to speak up about Mahsa and against the Iranian government. In the months after the murder of Mahsa Amini, Ariana posted daily updates of the aftermath of Iran, including videos of protests across Iran and the world and more information of other victims of the morality police. Soon, she started posting again about American politics and domestic problems.
This changed again when, in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7th, 2023, the Israeli government began its genocide of Gaza.
Since the genocide in Gaza began, social media creators across Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok were censored for speaking up in favor of Palestine, including when dispelling misinformation. In light of this, Ariana began posting daily updates on what has been going on in Palestine, sprinkling in non-Gaza-related political and progressive content on her social media.
Now, Ariana posts on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram and streams on Twitch on many topics. Her mission to share and uncover news stories that the media doesn’t focus on continues through each topic she covers. Amassing over 200,000 followers and 20 million likes on TikTok as well as being in the top 1% of Twitch streamers, Ariana has created great impact. She has shared essential content through many mediums, raising awareness and sharing essential stories.
Whether it is racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive justice, government officials, or another daily update on Palestine, Ariana shares the truth; the unadulterated, less-known, and vastly important truth.
