The Role of Social Media in the Amplification of Disinformation and Hate Speech against Afghan Refugees in Iran: Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

In Iran, fake news has been refined to weapon due to the popularity of new media and the growing social media-based assault on Afghan refugees. The recent geopolitical tensions and migrations, of course, have brought with them an increased number of false information reports and with them the rapid spread of negative stereotypes and the fueling of anti-Afghan sentiment. The article examines disinformation dispersion and its exacerbation in the digital space. It discusses in specifics ways in which misleading and hate speech against Afghan refugees pass through Iranian social media, in a thorough study of the psychological factors behind these narratives, that favors or fights such disinformation. The study screens the virtual screening areas that distribution of toxicity and disinformation by and engagement with social media. The disinformation technologies as well as the socio-political and historical contexts they derive from. Based on a detailed overview of the cyber-world, this study exposes the myriad challenges of suppressing false narratives and hate speech, focusing particularly on Afghan refugees in Iran. Besides, it points out to methods for both disallowing it to be distributed and curing the disease itself, basically, by redesigning digital agendas to present only the truth. The paper is aimed at unveiling the subversive forms of disinformation, armory with the data concerning digital tools and platforms, as well as input by external societies into the tapestry of the web that will construct a more inclusive digital discourse through critical engagement. Setting apart the genuine and not so wrong investigative procedures show great progress in society through these demanded efforts. Besides, the study impinges on more general issues such as media ethics and fact-checking, in what may be called the development of reliable information systems. This paper impinges on disinformation and humanizing toxic information, a vital aspect that currently has been managed only to a limited extend through the top-down disapproving or regulatory method and it creates strong ecosystem.