ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The number of social media accounts registered in Iraq has surged from around 34 million in 2025 to more than 40 million this year, a digital monitoring non-profit told Rudaw on Wednesday, highlighting a rise in fake and duplicate accounts, as the figure now exceeds the total number of internet users in the country.
“The number of social media accounts in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region reached more than 40.1 million in the first half of this year, compared to 34.3 million during the same period last year,” said Muhannad Habib Al-Samawi, general supervisor at the Baghdad-based Digital Media Center (DMC).
The non-profit has recorded 39.6 million internet users across Iraq, Samawi added, highlighting a discrepancy with the number of social media accounts which he attributed to “individuals creating multiple, fake or duplicate accounts.”
The digital media expert also underscored a significant mismatch between the registration of 50.8 million active telecommunication SIM cards and the country’s 46.1 million population.
According to DMC figures, TikTok has the highest number of accounts with 40.1 million, followed by YouTube with 24.7 million, Instagram with 21.5 million, Facebook with 20.8 million, and Snapchat with 19.3 million. Meanwhile, Messenger accounts have reached 14.9 million, followed by X with 2.74 million, LinkedIn with 2.7 million, and Threads with 1.6 million.
Importantly, the surge in social media usage has in recent years raised alarm in Iraq, especially as it has been linked to a rise in cybercrimes, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence, sexual extortion, and child abuse, with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) further exacerbating the downsides of the usage.
In December, Sherri Kraham Talabany, President of SEED - a local NGO that engaged with women and vulnerable populations - told Rudaw they received “many, many cases” of women and girls seeking help to remove harmful content or stop exploitation.”
Image-based sexual abuse is now the most common issue SEED encounters, Talabany added, noting that it often affects teenage girls, university students, and women active in public life.
Iraq’s cybercrime law penalizes anyone who “uses computers and the internet to attribute terms, images, sounds, or other content that includes libel or insult,” with up to two years in prison and fines of up to five million Iraqi dinars (about $3,800).
Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Region utilizes Article 2 of the Law to Prevent the Misuse of Telecommunications Equipment against anyone "who uses their [smart] devices as a means to threaten, defame, or post content that does not go along with the social standards.” Offenders may face up to five years in prison and fines of up to five million dinars as well.
Despite this, human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the latter legal frameworks, arguing they are sometimes used to suppress dissent.
