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

A UK television personality from Surrey took part in two state-sponsored tours of Iran in spring, meeting senior officials and actively promoting the regime’s messaging. An investigation by Factnameh reported that she participated in press tours organized by IRIB World Service, the international arm of Iran’s state broadcaster. The investigation identified more than a dozen participants, including several US journalists. Factnameh’s executive director said Iran has long cultivated friendly journalists and prominent Western figures aligned with anti-imperialist and anti-colonial frameworks, but that after the June 2025 Iran–Israel conflict Iran shifted toward engaging influencers because mainstream media audiences are declining. He said influencer content is more likely to match state narratives and face less fact-checking. It remains unclear whether participants paid their own expenses or were compensated, though a second invitation suggested value in her output.

"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."

"Factnameh identified more than a dozen participants in these tours, including a handful of US journalists. Fereidoon Bashar, the executive director of ASL19, which created Factnameh, said cultivating friendly journalists and public figures had been part of Iran's strategy for some time. There has been a long tradition of having prominent western figures to Iran who are aligned with anti-imperialist, anti-colonial frameworks, he said. But since the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in June 2025, he said, there had been a major shift in Iran's communication approach."

"Bashar said: My thinking is that they're realising much like the rest of the world that a lot of mainstream media is losing their audiences, and these individual influencers are much easier to engage and invite. The content they put out is more likely to align with state narratives, and less likely to be factchecked. It is unclear whether Shaikh and others covered their own expenses or were paid to do the trip. Bashar said it appeared that the Iranian government valued Shaikh's content as it invited her back for a second trip i"

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