Iraqi TikTok star Om Fahad was shot dead outside his Baghdad home

The Iraqi TikTok star, known to his followers as Om Fahd, was shot dead outside his home in Baghdad in a midnight attack, officials said.

Fahad, whose legal name is Ghufran Sawadi, was approached by a private man on a motorcycle while he was sitting in a black SUV on Friday night. He opened fire inside the car before fleeing, according to security camera footage broadcast by Iraqi television.

It was set up by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior To investigate the group murder Not arrested.

Fahad is popular on TikTok with almost half a million followers and videos of himself dancing to Iraqi music and showing his daily life.

Last year, the Iraqi government launched a campaign to erase social media content it said violated “morals and traditions.”

A committee was established to scan clips deemed offensive on social platforms. The government created an online platform called Balgh, where users can request content to be removed.

Fahd was one of six Iraqi content creators sentenced last year to prison terms ranging from six months to two years for “offending morals and public decency.” Authorities have launched an investigation into eight other creators. Some were forced to apologize and remove their content.

A Report The investigation by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a Geneva-based non-profit organization, was marked by vague allegations and no basis for an indictment.

This is not the first time a popular Iraqi social media content creator has been killed.

In 2018, Tara Fares, a model and Instagram creator with over 2 million followers, was gunned down in broad daylight in her car in Baghdad. No one has been arrested in this case. The home minister at the time blamed “radical illegal groups” behind the killing.

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While Iraq's constitution protects freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it stipulates that such speech “must not violate public order and morality.”

TikTok is one of the most popular social platforms in Iraq, used by nearly 32 million people, according to the Iraqi Digital Media Center, an independent monitoring group.

The platform, which officials call a “disintegration of the Iraqi social fabric,” has sparked controversy in recent years. Ministry of Communications in March requested It will be banned.

Snell reported from Washington and Salim from Baghdad.

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