<div><strong> Urgent call to Mainstream Media Coverage </strong>
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<div><strong>#womenlifefreedom #mahsaamini #zhinaamini</strong>
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<div>Thank you all for the continued support of our coordinated campaign. We reached our initial goal of $250K and are continuing to surpass it. At the $450K mark, we will close the campaign.**  The additional funds will be invested in our digital marketing plan, which will be shared with you next week. Once the program, dates, and locations are confirmed, we will ask all of you to continue supporting the campaign on your social media pages and by visiting the placement sites.
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<div>**Update 9/10/2023: We were so excited that the campaign continued to raise funds from generous donors that we kept it open to be able to re-launch a commemorative campaign in Times Square, with accompanying wild postings in multiple cities. Please go to our instagram page @iraniandiasporacollective for more details and images of the new campaign, which launches TODAY and is up through 9/23/2023.
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<div>Update 11/3/2022: We have surpassed $450k, and following a number of requests from our donors, are currently evaluating the feasibility of extending the campaign from Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC, to select cities in the UK, Europe and Canada.
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<div>We continue to focus our energies on amplifying voices and organizing tangible calls to action to support Iranians. If you’re looking for ways to help, please consider the following:
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<li>Change.org Petition: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/remove-islamic-republic-of-iran-from-the-un-commission-on-the-status-of-women-mahsa-amini" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click Here</a> to Remove Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women
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<li>Change.org Petition: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/g7-leaders-expel-iran-s-diplomats-demand-that-political-prisoners-be-freed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click Here</a> to Expel Iran's Diplomats &amp; Demand that Political Prisoners Be Freed
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<li>We have secured billboard locations in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C.
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<div><strong>In the Press</strong>
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<li>We are grateful to our friend and partner, Moj Mahdara, for her appearance and amplification of this campaign <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/yasmin-vossoughian-reports/watch/-this-regime-has-to-be-held-accountable-demonstrations-continue-in-iran-one-month-after-mahsa-amini-s-death-150787141845" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on MSNBC with Yasmin Vossoughian</a>.
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<li>We partnered with our friends Nicole Behnam and Faroukh Sarmad, on a conversation hosted on Twitter Spaces: “The Truth About the Iranian Protests.” Nicole and Faroukh were joined by Yashar Ali, Amir Soltani, Moj Mahdara, Gissou Nia, Roya Boroumand, Sara Baumann, Lisa Daftari, and others. <a href="https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1OwGWwZlpYQGQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click here to listen</a> to this dynamic conversation with helpful calls-to-action. .
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<div><strong>The Organizers</strong>
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<div>This fundraiser has been organized by a coalition of Diasporic Iranians; we are a non-partisan, multi-faith group that is inclusive of multiple backgrounds, gender and LGBTQ identity and includes leaders in business, media, entertainment, fashion, beauty, and more. Due to sensitivity and concerns around surveillance and the physical safety of family members still in Iran, please understand that we are exercising discretion regarding the identities of members in this coalition. We will provide transparency around use of funds. Your trust in us and this endeavor is deeply appreciated.
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<div><strong>What is happening in Iran?</strong>
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<div>Iranians want freedom. Protests are happening in almost every province of Iran. This is the People’s Revolution of 2022….and it is led by women. The protests in Iran carry extraordinary global significance, but in the last 8 days alone, countless innocent people have been murdered by the Islamic Republic's police and the Morality police.
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<div>Iranian women, their families and supporters, students, artists and LGBTQ people are being beaten, raped, killed, and imprisoned for defending their basic human rights.
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<div>Led by women, the people of Iran are risking their lives night after night to fight for their fundamental human rights.
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<div>The Iranian government has shut down the internet, blocked social media platforms, and drastically limited cell phone connectivity. This has massively suffocated the global awareness of the women-led protests and the Islamic Republic's violent repression.
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<div>This campaign seeks to create global visibility and accelerate mainstream media coverage.
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<div><strong>Major global news outlets have a responsibility to cover these events more extensively. </strong>
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<div>On September 13, Zhina “Mahsa” Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian, was brutally beaten after being taken into custody for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. She died two days later.
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<div>On September 16, major protests broke out around the country. At the front lines of these protests are young women and men, many are students and artists. Thousands of these protesters are being beaten, killed, and imprisoned.
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<div>On September 19, the Islamic Republic shut down the country’s internet, and blocked access to social media sites, and slowed cellphone connectivity.
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<div>On October 1, approximately one million people in over 150 cities around the world gathered in solidarity with the women and people of Iran fighting for their human rights.
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<div>On October 2, police descended upon Sharif University, trapping 2000+ students and faculty in school parking lots, dorms, and classrooms. Students are being beaten, murdered, and raped en mass.
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<div>We have sources on the ground who have confirmed the following crimes against humanity: police are using machine guns to shoot down hundreds of protestors in the streets. Police are posing as medical help, using ambulances to shoot protestors. When injured protestors come to the hospital seeking medical aid, police drug, kidnap, and disappear them.
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<div>Artists, athletes, journalists, scholars and other high-profile leaders who speak out are being detained, imprisoned, or have gone into hiding (on the run from the police.) Artists and intellectuals are honored in Iranian culture, but today, the Islamic Republic is murdering them in cold blood.
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<div><strong>Our Goal</strong>
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<div>This campaign aims to raise visibility for crimes against humanity taking place NOW in Iran. Our goal is to raise 250,000 USD to buy billboards around media headquarters and in public spaces in the US, UK and Canada to bring visibility to the #FreeIran and the #WomanLifeFreedom movement in Iran.
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<div>This campaign is being produced by a group of multi-faith Iranians, including sexual orientation, gender expression, and racial ethnicity.
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<div>We are working with the GoFundMe team to ensure funds are transferred safely.
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<div><strong>Please Note: </strong>
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<div>100% of the funds will be invested in advertising (billboards, print media, and digital media) in high-visibility locations. This includes the creative design of the advertising campaign, press around the campaign to further amplify the advertising, and legal, accounting, and administrative costs to managing the campaign. This will enable us to accelerate and extend the momentum related to the women-led protests in Iran.
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<div>The funds will be overseen and managed by an experienced C-suite Iranian with over 20 years of finance experience- in addition to a designated committee.
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<div>Our goal is to raise 250K USD. Anything above that will only allow us to extend the reach and duration of the campaign.
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<div><strong>Q &amp; A:</strong>
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<div><em>Why aren’t you sending the funds to Iran?</em>
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<div>Due to the delicate nature of the US x Iran relationship, financial transfers are impossible. Please see more <a href="https://www.state.gov/iran-sanctions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.
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<div><em>When will you close the campaign?</em>
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<div>Our financial committee is currently in discussion about this. We will continue to share updates.
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<div><em>Who is leading this campaign?</em>
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<div>A group of multi-faith Iranians, inclusive of sexual orientation, gender expression, and racial ethnicity.
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Urgent Call For Mainstream Media #Womanlifefreedom

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