Iranian activists are finding creative ways to fight government censorship and spread protests throughout the country.

Twitter users appear to have posted thousands of pictures of Iranian banknotes covered with handwritten messages and drawings encouraging dissent.

Iran has reportedly arrested upwards of 5,000 people during recent protests.



Iranian activists are finding creative ways to fight government censorship and spread protests throughout the country.

Iran's recent protests began as a relatively small venture in December 2017, but soon gained traction and have continued into 2018. According to figures from February, Iran has reportedly arrested upwards of 5,000 protestors.

The government continues to crackdown on social media and messaging services, recently banning photos and videos on the popular messaging app Telegram, in order to curb dissent.

And now a group on Twitter have begun posting thousands of photos of messages scrawled on banknotes.

Thousands of tweets have been posted since the photos began circulating over the weekend.

The movement is slowly gaining traction and is spreading through the use of hashtags like #Onehundredthousand_talking_banknotes.

One user wrote that the movement acts as a bridge between "cyberspace and community," and serves as an act of "civil disobedience."

Some users have even drawn pictures of iconic protest imagery on bank notes. This note depicts women who became symbols of resistance after they took off their mandated hijabs and waived them around in public.

Last year's protests initially expressed anger over the economy and skyrocketing prices of basic necessities like eggs and poultry. The movement was popular with working class citizens under 25, who have suffered under international sanctions which have affected Iran's economic growth.

Protests quickly moved to target Iran's political leaders and calls have been made for the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down.