TEHRAN – As millions of mourners poured into the streets of Tehran on Monday to bid farewell to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, social media platforms became an equally important arena where images, eyewitness accounts, and competing narratives unfolded in real time.

From X and Instagram to Telegram and short-video platforms, users inside and outside Iran transformed the funeral into one of the country's most extensively documented public events, sharing aerial footage, personal observations, and street-level videos that reached millions within hours.

While international media widely acknowledged the extraordinary scale of the procession, online users across platforms shared an even broader stream of videos and photographs documenting what many described as one of the largest public gatherings in Iran's contemporary history. Reuters, the Financial Times, AP, and several other international outlets also reported that massive crowds took part in the funeral procession, with aerial footage showing densely packed streets across central Tehran.

On X, one of the day's dominant discussions revolved around the scale of the procession.

While some anti-government accounts attempted to portray footage from Sunday's farewell ceremony at Tehran's Grand Mosalla as representative of Monday's funeral turnout, many other users pushed back by circulating aerial videos, drone footage and panoramic images recorded along Enghelab Street, Azadi Street and other sections of the funeral route.

High-angle videos filmed from rooftops, pedestrian bridges and nearby buildings spread rapidly across Persian-language timelines. Drone recordings showing densely packed avenues became among the most frequently shared visuals of the day, with many users describing the turnout as exceeding their expectations.

Another conversation that gained traction involved the late adjustment to parts of the funeral route.

Several participants wrote that the unexpected changes prevented them from reaching planned gathering points or getting closer to the coffin. Yet even many of those expressing frustration stressed that the logistical changes did little to overshadow what they regarded as the extraordinary scale and emotional atmosphere of the ceremony. Comments such as "The route changed, but the people were everywhere" and "Nothing diminished the grandeur of today's farewell" were echoed across numerous Persian-language posts.

If X became the arena for debate, Instagram evolved into the visual archive of the day.

Official news agencies continuously uploaded photographs and live broadcasts, but some of the platform's most engaging content came from personal accounts belonging to photographers, journalists and ordinary participants documenting the event through their mobile phones.

Reels featuring endless rows of mourners, overhead drone footage, volunteers distributing water, families carrying Iranian flags and emotional moments along the procession route accumulated hundreds of thousands of views within hours. Unlike X, where political debate remained central, Instagram users largely focused on documenting the atmosphere and scale of the gathering.

Foreign correspondents covering the funeral also turned to their personal social media accounts, posting informal observations, behind-the-scenes footage and panoramic views that complemented their organizations' official reporting. International coverage likewise highlighted the unusually large foreign media presence in Tehran, with hundreds of journalists accredited to report on the ceremony.

Another widely discussed aspect of the online coverage was the participation of foreign travel bloggers and digital creators visiting Iran.

Several posted videos expressing surprise at both the size of the crowds and the organization of the event. Rather than offering political commentary, many documented their own experience of walking alongside mourners, filming Tehran's packed streets and interacting with participants.

Their clips were subsequently reposted by numerous Iranian users, who viewed them as independent eyewitness perspectives shared beyond the country's official media outlets.

Telegram channels also played a significant role throughout the day. Users compiled footage recorded from multiple locations into extended montages, allowing viewers to follow different segments of the procession simultaneously. In many cases, drone videos, television broadcasts and mobile phone recordings were edited together, creating a collective digital record of the ceremony from dozens of different angles.

Despite the sharp differences in political interpretation visible across online platforms, one point appeared unmistakable: the funeral generated an extraordinary volume of user-produced content. Professional journalists, photographers, foreign correspondents, bloggers and ordinary citizens all contributed to documenting the event, producing an immense digital archive within just a few hours.

Long after the streets of Tehran began to empty, that online archive continued to expand. Images, videos and personal accounts kept circulating across platforms, ensuring that the funeral would be remembered not only as one of the largest public gatherings in recent Iranian history, but also as one of its most extensively chronicled events in the age of social media.

SAB/