. Unsurprisingly, it also made waves within Facebook, according to an internal document leaked as part of the Facebook Papers that was initially viewed by more than 5,500 employees. After we saw it, we called Esfahbod up, and he told us the full story of his experience and why he eventually left Facebook. And he described something strange: Not only did Facebook appear to fear Iran, but the Iranian authorities seemed wary of offending Facebook, too.
Esfahbod says the IRGC targeted him because of his friendships with activists who’ve been developing tools to circumvent internet censorship in Iran. He was placed in solitary confinement for a week, save for two sessions of psychological torture and daily six-hour interrogations. The guards went through most of his devices and downloaded troves of private data from his social media accounts.