New Ayatollah Khamenei Facebook page gets over '1000 Likes' shortly after launch
Johannesburg, Dec. 18 (ANI)
Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has emerged as a surprise member of Facebook, after the social networking site was earlier banned in the Middle East nation due to its use by activists to rally government opponents in 2009.
Launched a few days ago, the Facebook page "Khamenei.ir" displays photographs of the 73-year-old cleric alongside speeches and pronouncements by the man who wields ultimate power in the Islamic Republic.
While there are several other Facebook pages already devoted to Khamenei, the new page, whose number of "likes" quadrupled on Monday to over 1 000, appeared to be officially authorised, rather than merely the work of admirers, News24 reports.
According to the report, the page has been publicised by a Twitter account of the same name that Iran experts believe is run by Khamenei's office.
Khamenei's Facebook page has so far shared a picture of a young Khamenei alongside the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the early 1960s, the report said.
It also appears to share a similar tone, style and content with accounts devoted to disseminating Khamenei's message on Twitter and Instagram and to the website www.khamenei.ir, a sophisticated official website published in 13 languages, the report added.