Use of Rumors in the Political Actions of the Opponents of the Pahlavi Government (1356-1357 HS)

Rumors are used as one of the effective tools in psychological operations during revolutions and unrest. In the Iranian Islamic Revolution, revolutionaries used rumors to achieve their goals. This historical and analytical research, through document reading and document analysis and based on documents from the Center for Historical Documents Survey, examines how rumors were used in revolutionary struggles against the security system of the Pahlavi government. The research question is how rumors in the context of revolutionary struggles against the security system and the Pahlavi government were used. The findings show that revolutionaries were more successful in using rumors to create fear among security forces and stimulate the society. The opponents took advantage of rumors to create a belief in "Iran without Shah" in society and to instill fear in military and enforcement forces. They created rumors using techniques such as inflating the number of protesters, which ultimately led to the collapse of Pahlavi and the victory for the revolution.