Social media posts coming out of Iran show that protests against Iran’s mandatory hijab laws, in reaction to the death of a young woman who died in police custody, have spread to multiple cities across the country. 

The protests, now on their sixth day, erupted when Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by Iran’s morality police, died while in custody. Iran’s notorious Guidance Patrol do sweeps where they either fine or arrest women for improper or loose-fitting hijab. These sweeps, conducted in white and green vans, routinely cause controversy, especially when someone resists. The videos often go viral and bring to light an unpopular law that is enforced with brute force.

After Amini’s death and widespread public outcry, Iranian government officials acknowledged the death and reached out to her family. President Ebrahim Raisi, ahead of his trip to New York for the UN General Assembly, spoke to Amini’s family and said that the authorities would investigate the cause of her death. A number of Iranian media outlets covered the Amini story as well.

However, as protests have spread, much of Iranian media coverage changed. They are now more focused on the violence, referring to protests as “riots.” A Fars News headline read “The MEK and organized groups have entered the protests.” The article acknowledged that some people were “influenced” by Amini’s death and are awaiting a medical investigation into the cause of her death. The article continued that in “some areas,” foreign media has provoked individuals and some of the civil protests have “turned into riots.”