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Here’s how AP reports on the death toll from Iran’s protests

Here's how AP reports on the death toll from Iran's protests | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP, File)

The difficulty of tracking the death toll from Iran’s nationwide protests has been compounded by the government’s decision to cut off the internet to the country, but some information has still been getting out.

The Associated Press has been relying on figures provided by the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

The U.S.-based agency, founded 20 years ago, has been accurate throughout multiple years of demonstrations, relying on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities. That can include speaking with medical officials, family members and community leaders, as well as checking against funeral notices and other official documents.

The agency is a tax-exempt nonprofit registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. One of its founders is Keyvan Rafiee, an Iranian political activist who faced repeated imprisonment at home before leaving the Islamic Republic for the United States.

With communications greatly limited in Iran, the AP has been unable to independently confirm the group’s toll. The theocratic government of Iran has not provided overall casualty figures for the demonstrations.

Iranian state media has provided little information about the demonstrations, making it difficult to assess the scale of the protests. Videos that have surfaced online offer brief, shaky glimpses of people in the streets or the sound of gunfire.

The AP reporting has relied on some of these videos, which likely have made it out of the country via Starlink satellite dishes. The AP authenticates such footage by checking it against known locations and events, as well as talking to regional experts. The AP also ensures the substance of the video is consistent with its own reporting.

Here's how AP reports on the death toll from Iran's protests | iNFOnews.ca
FILE – In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP, File)
Here's how AP reports on the death toll from Iran's protests | iNFOnews.ca
FILE – Protesters participate in a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
Here's how AP reports on the death toll from Iran's protests | iNFOnews.ca
FILE – Protesters hold placards during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

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The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

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