Twitter suspended journalist Yashar Ali after he posted a recipe for a Molotov cocktail.
The news of the temporary suspension was first reported by journalist Ken Klippenstein.
Ali later confirmed his suspension in a statement to the Daily Dot, saying he was suspended for tweeting out a “How to Make the Perfect Molotov Cocktail” article. Ali said he attached the recipe as a quote tweet, where he posted a video of Iranian women making Molotov cocktails.
“Iranian women who can’t go into the street, you can support the men in your life who can protest, and give them strength, by making Molotov Cocktails at home,” he said.
In a statement, Ali said he was paraphrasing what the women in the video were saying in Persian.
Ali is the latest in a number of users caught in the crosshairs as social media companies attempt to crack down on the spread of violence and misinformation on their platforms. Users have occasionally been suspended for showing support for the protests.
In Iran, users often do not have access to Twitter amid crackdowns from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who continues to use Twitter to spread disinformation about the protests.
Many users came to the defense of Ali, who is a prominent media influencer.
“suspended for doing community service work!!!” a user argued.
“@TwitterSupport yet again, you limit Yashar from sharing info on the protests in Iran yet you allow the Islamic Republic to spew vile on their accounts every day,” another user wrote. “Shame on you @Twitter.”
Ali has been vocal in his support of the Iranian protest movement over the last month, using his platform to share videos and news about the uprising. The protest movement began after a woman died will being detained by Iranian authorities over her refusal to wear a hijab, and has spread across the nation.
