The huge death tolls in Iran being splashed all over the media are sourced to an outfit in Fairfax, VA called “Human Rights Activists in Iran” that is overwhelmingly funded by the US government. What is their methodology? Is it credible? Who cares? Just pump the big numbers out.

National Endowment for Democracy (NED) received $315 million in FY2025, and GOP appropriators just released their FY2026 spending bill – NED will again receive $315 million. This “Human Rights Activists in Iran” outfit, based in Northern Virginia, says it’s an NED grantee.