January 13, 2026
Offline nation, online outrage
90M people. 118 hours of silence. One nation erased from the internet
Outrage, rumors, and awkward shrugs as Iran goes dark and the comments explode
TLDR: Iran’s internet was deliberately crippled as multiple networks failed in sync, leaving 90 million people effectively offline for days. Commenters erupted over selective outrage and unverified death tolls, debating Western attention and calling out silence from activists while experts warned the blackout hides what’s really happening.
Iran’s internet didn’t just fade—it vanished, with over 90 million people cut off for 120+ hours while a live tracker screamed “OFFLINE.” As experts like Doug Madory said the country was “technically connected” but functionally dead, an A‑list of internet leaders issued a blistering condemnation. But the real fireworks erupted in the comments.
The strongest mood? Fury at perceived selective outrage. One user raged that human rights groups were “silent,” while another shrugged, “Minneapolis hits different—Iran is far away,” igniting a brawl over whose suffering gets attention. Then came explosive claims that thousands were gunned down—numbers flying in replies, with others warning they’re unverified and calling for caution amid the blackout’s info void.
Under the hood, people tried to translate geek-speak: BGP (the internet’s map of routes) went from 1.2M daily updates to 5.6M, meaning routers “screamed” and the network ate itself. Ten big providers failed in sync—Irancell, MCI, Rightel, you name it—suggesting a coordinated takedown. Session Messenger reportedly faced DNS spoofing (think fake street signs online), and backbone devices rewrote web traffic. Researcher Amir Rashidi said he’d never seen anything like it. Amid the horror, dark humor popped up: “BGP = Big Government Panic,” and “Iran’s Wi‑Fi went full ‘Why try?’” The vibe: outrage, helplessness, and a bitter fight over who’s paying attention.
Key Points
- •Iran experienced a nationwide internet collapse affecting ~90 million people for over 120 hours.
- •BGP routing updates at TCI surged 368% to 5.6 million in 24 hours, causing route flapping and instability.
- •Failures occurred simultaneously across fixed, mobile, and hosting networks, affecting at least ten major ASNs (e.g., Irancell, MCI, Rightel, Shatel, Afranet).
- •Session Messenger was targeted via DNS spoofing; middleboxes rewrote HTTP headers on the national backbone.
- •Domestic hosting providers saw a 400% instability surge, indicating an attempted intranet isolation.