An Iraqi TikTok personality, known as Om Fahad to her hundreds of thousands of online followers, was shot dead in a late-night attack outside her home in eastern Baghdad’s Zayouna district, Al Jazeera reported.
Surveillance footage captured the incident on Friday, showing a lone assailant in dark clothing and a helmet dismounting from a motorcycle, approaching a black SUV, and shooting Om Fahad, who was seated inside.
The Ministry of Interior has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her killing.
Om Fahad, whose real name was Ghufran Sawadi, gained popularity on TikTok with nearly half a million followers for sharing dance videos set to popular music.
In February 2023, she was sentenced to six months in prison by a court that deemed her videos to contain “indecent speech undermining modesty and public morality.” Some of her videos had garnered over a million views.
Five other online content creators also received prison sentences of up to two years during this period, with investigations launched against additional individuals.
This crackdown followed the establishment of an Iraqi Interior Ministry committee in January 2023 to identify and remove “obscene and degrading content” posted online by influencers like Om Fahad, aimed at preserving “morals and family traditions” in Iraqi society.
Authorities introduced an online reporting platform encouraging Iraqi users to flag objectionable content for removal. Officials claimed widespread public support for the platform, with tens of thousands of reports filed.
As a result of the ministry’s actions, some content creators apologised and deleted their certain posts.
