June 25 2025, MENA Meetup
The MENA Regional Meetups are bimonthly video calling gatherings that bring together folks from the MENA region to share, connect, seek help, and release stress by celebrating each other. In addition, it's a time for us to find ways to support each other, and help us understand what is happening in our part of the world. If you cannot attend the monthly meetups, we are taking notes of each gathering and linking to them below.
The MENA community is connected during the week in different ways. Either through various MENA-focused channels on the TCU Mattermost or via different events organized on various topics during the year.
- Date: Wednesday, June 25
- Time: 4pm EET / 9am EDT / 1pm UTC (What time is it in my city?)
- Who: Facilitated by Mardiya
- Where: The Google Meet link will be shared in the Regional MENA's channel on the TCU Mattermost one or two hours before the start of the meeting and via email to the participants. Don't have an account to the TCU Mattermost? you can request one following the directions here.
Digital Iran Reloaded: Iranian Gamers vs. Information Controls
Join us on the June 25, in this Digital Rights MENA Meetup combined with TCU's Community Knowledge Share webinar format, where Melinda will be talk about:
- Digital Resistance: Iranian Gamers vs. Information Controls
- Gamer community resilience
- Implications for digital rights
Melinda Cohoon, a recent doctoral graduate in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Washington, focused her dissertation on the culture of gamers in Iran, specifically those who play World of Warcraft, and the application of affect theory. She is a former ICFP senior research fellow collaborating with the Miaan Group. Her recent research as a senior fellow investigates internet access conditions from the perspective of Iranian gamers.
Notes
This research emerges in the Interests in Iranian Gamers and why they use VPNS because there is a gap in understanding digital resistance practices, even those marginalized. Because of the persistence of digital authoritarianism and the current Israeli attack on internet infrastructure.
Research focused on digital ethnography on Signal, Discord and Twitch of Iranian gamers and their experiences on Internet repression., analysing the circumvention tools and political surveillance practices, with a majority of men +40 as subjects and from Iran. The majority used Psiphon as the main web browser.
Melinda found rapid evolution from basic filtering to sophisticated state control over decades, like website and search term blocking to complete shutdowns. The implementation of Halal Internet, which is the censorship of spaces of the internet resistance.
Other findings were Rotate VPNs and tweak ports/protocols and using in-game voice or text channels for private talks to prevent surveillance, so it is more than entertainment. They even embed messages in memes and insider slangs. They have a highly sophisticated and experimental culture when trying to connect or play with a strong knowledge share.
The latency is limited and gamers cannot access games or playing them is almost impossible when the latency is high
Gaming spaces are spaces of socio-political engagement while they escape from physician restrictions with PNs. This brings psychological resistance, built solidarity, cultural creativity and technical adaptation through play and humour
Melinda discusses that gaming is not merely leisure, and it is used for information controls and digital authoritarianism, while gamers fight these with their own tools while gaming. Future direction is understanding the impact of unethical IA in these spheres.
Questions:
What are the implications on other authoritarian regions - esp when digital surveillance is increasing. In terms of the tools Iranian gamers are using, are there any specific recommendations or takeaways to activists in other regions?
The gamers are good at using different and creative methodologies to circumvent surveillance, and its important to speak to and hire them to support on identifying alternative routes to addressing digital surveillance.
Does Tor not work at all in Iran even with bridges?
Yes, it does but Tor is not usually used for gaming.
Is there a reason why Tor isn’t used for gaming?
I think it is a logistic problem, it doesn't work for gaming, this tendency is not related to cultural perspectives.
What trust system exists within the networks where Iranian gamers exchange their methods on VPNs and others
They operate with low trust but share it eitherways. They want to play games so they find a way to navigate their issues
I think in concentric circles of trust, so they use their own, like knowing them IRL first and then the circles spread.
But then Psiphon is not end-to-end encrypted (E2E). It looks to me it is not easy to maintain privacy and anonymity - perhaps also explains the low trust. Are there any insights from the gamers demography?
It is impossible to maintain anonymity, but they keep trying new methodologies.
And can you tell us more about usage of popular apps like discord for communication and steam for actual gaming, are these generally blocked as a whole? or is there blocking/surveillance for specific aspects of them?
Discord is the most popular. And these aren’t generally blocked.
From what you have observed, do Iranian gamers tend to use gaming environments for socialising (political ideas, artistic or cultural projects) beyond the entertainment and gaming environment?
Yes, they do but once again they would say that it is more for entertainment even though it is becoming a political sphere.
Do Iranian gamers really engage with state sponsored games?
They don’t play those, they call this propaganda.
It took time, it took me 4 years in the field of research.
Speaking of propaganda, don't they find the most played games (especially Call of Duty) as American propaganda? Isn't there a perception, let's say pre-politics, that this is also propaganda but ‘we want to have a good time’ so to speak?
It is easier to play these games, there are more games coming from the US and these are “good done” games even propagandistic. They can buy these games in Iran but are censored
What lessons can be drawn and applied to other contexts (such as Palestine) regarding surveillance and protection while gaming?
This is a hard question because of the volatile context. They can’t access these services right now.
Piracy is the (legitimate) way to access culture, is it right? Do you expand this topic in your research?
It is legitimate but I do not expand on this topic in this research. Mobile gaming is more prevalent than computer gaming. This is a class issue mostly but I would like to expand my research on that.
What role does diaspora play in supporting Iranian gamers' visibility and access internationally?
A lot of people end up leaving Iran and end up being streamers on Twitch as a professional gamer, this is the main mechanism. Some of them don’t have access to monetization. They support each other in networks like these but this doesn’t help that much with access.
