Israeli UN Envoy's Starlink Video Goes Viral, Capturing Iranian Audience

A video depicting Israel's Ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, offering a Starlink device to an Iranian representative has achieved nearly 9 million views across social media platforms. Analytics indicate that approximately 40% of the video's viewers on Instagram are located in Iran, a reach that surprised Danon's office.

The encounter originated from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address at the U.N. General Assembly. During his speech, Netanyahu displayed a Starlink device, intending it as a message for the Iranian people. Following the address, he requested that the device be offered to the Iranian delegation. Ambassador Danon then approached an Iranian representative with the device, an interaction that was captured on video. The Iranian representative ultimately declined to accept it.

Danon's office subsequently posted the exchange on social media, where it rapidly gained attention. According to audience analytics for Instagram, 39.9% of viewers were in Iran, making it the largest national audience segment. The United States accounted for 14.3%, Israel for 12.6%, Canada for 5.9%, and Germany for 4.1%.

Danon's representative characterized the significant viewership within Iran as noteworthy, particularly given the message of freedom and freedom of expression for the Iranian people that accompanied the Starlink offer. The representative suggested that the video's virality within Iran prompted a counter-response from accounts believed to be associated with the Iranian regime.

These accounts began recirculating a video from September 2023, which showed former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan being escorted from the General Assembly during a protest against then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. In that incident, Erdan held a photograph of Mahsa Amini during Raisi's speech. The renewed circulation of this older video, with posts presenting it as a current confrontation, has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Danon's representative described this as a "disinformation campaign" aimed at diverting attention from the Starlink video, stating, "From our perspective, the Danon video moved something in Iran," and that the Iranian regime was attempting to "change the story."