Instagram's 'Rich Kids Of Tehran' Has Been Shut Down
Rich Kids of Tehran, the Iranian Instagram page which gained wide attention in international media, appears to have been shut down.
Set to private, a note on the page reads "This page has currently been shut down to the the high amount of false publicity."
Earlier this week, page administrators told Business Insider:
"The aim of our page is to show the world the good side of Iran. Every time Iran is mentioned on TV or news, they always talk negatively and we are trying to show the good side"
A disclaimer on the site later read:
"This page is in no way political and we never had any bad intentions. We never thought the page would make headlines all over the world."
It appears the page is inaccessible. It is unknown whether this is due to the wishes of the page administrators, or government censorship, as claimed by Mashable.
Rich Kids or Tehran launched less than a month ago, quickly gaining media attention around the world, as well as almost 100,000 followers.
The exhibitions of wealth and sexuality have came as a surprise to many both inside and outside the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is subject to strict international sanctions and Islamic laws that prohibit alcohol and immodest dressing. Many of those pictured in the feed were said to be children of Iran's elite.
It would appear the wealthy and powerful have suffered little under sanctions compared with millions of others in the country. The site also recently spawned another Iranian Instagram account, Poor Kids of Tehran, which highlights images of Iranian street children.
InstagramPoor kids of Tehran shows the other side of life in Tehran, with parody shots comparing poor lifestyles with the Rich Kids' images.More than two-thirds of Iran's population is now under 35, and it appears they are rejecting the Islamic revolutionary values of their elders who supported Islamic rule. The biggest challenge to Iran's revolutionary hardliners may just come from their own children.