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UK influencer met senior officials on state-sponsored tours of Iran, factchecking body finds

World news | The Guardian·Aisha Down·3 days ago
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A UK television personality went on two state-sponsored tours of Iran this spring where she met senior officials and was “active” in spreading the regime’s message, according to an investigation by a Iranian factchecking organisation. Bushra Shaikh, from Surrey, owned a luxury clothing brand and finished ninth on series 13 of The Apprentice in 2017, where she described herself as “inspired by Coco Chanel”. Shaikh posts on X and Instagram to hundreds of thousands of followers about her appearances on TalkTV and Good Morning Britain with photographs of her outfits and opinions on rightwing figures such as Laura Loomer and Rupert Lowe. An investigation by Factnameh found that Shaikh played a “highly active role in reproducing the government’s narrative” this spring after taking part in two press tours organised by IRIB World Service, the international arm of Iran’s state broadcaster. Factnameh identified more than a dozen participants in these tours , including a handful of US journalists.…

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