In a shocking scene that prompted widespread responses, Iraqis were shocked to see pornography displayed on screens in the capital Baghdad, which lasted for minutes before government officials cut the power.

On Saturday evening, residents of central Baghdad’s Karrada neighborhood were shocked by obscene videos on one of the large billboards at Aqaba bin Nafi intersection in the middle of a public street. The video continued for several minutes before authorities disconnected the electrical cables from the billboard.

Notably, the same content was displayed on another billboard in Babil city, prompting Iraqi authorities to immediately turn off all screens displaying advertisements in public places in the capital Baghdad and Babil governorate to counter the incursion. Two large screens.

Shortly after, the Home Ministry announced the arrest of the accused who had hacked the screen, saying, “In the preliminary investigation, it was found that the accused had committed this immoral act due to a financial issue with the owner. Company that owns the display. His statements were recorded and necessary legal action taken against him and sent to court.” .

According to officials, the accused is a resident of the same area – Garrada – aged around 19. He works in the same company setting up screens and has access to view the screen’s content.

outrageous act

The incident sparked a storm of angry responses on the Iraqi street, and in its episode (8/21/2023) the program “Shabaqat” tracked Iraqis’ interactions with the act and they unanimously described it as “disgraceful”, including Assad, Al-Sudani wrote, “The scene on these screens Entering it through the computer, then the installed program and the entry barcode, then it will show what you want to show. Do not hack, they do not regret.. The problem is deliberate and deliberate, with knowledge and knowledge.

Amir Ibrahim tweeted, “It is true that hacking advertising screens on the streets of Baghdad exposes weakness in their electronic security systems, but on the other hand, it exposes the baseness and inferiority complex of those behind this act.”

As for Larson, he wrote, “The talk is exaggerated by financial problems with the company. He breaks screens and harms the company. He does not show pornographic films. This is a worse excuse than the sin that mitigates his sentence.”

On the other hand, Alikon believes that what happened “indicates a lack of authorization or a lack of controls,” and “all screens should be stopped from working until the issue of information security is resolved.”

Finally, Haider Rahman, a top official at the government agency responsible for protecting the content of these screens, demanded that “he apologize and resign from his post.”

In their statement, authorities did not name the company that owns the screen, but Baghdad-based advertising agency “Promomedia” released a statement after its name was released, saying “our screens adopt the highest international standards of security regulations and ensure they are not hacked, and we have them in Uqba Bin Square. No screen.”

Notably, public space in Iraq is subject to laws and regulations to invest in a civilized manner that conforms to public taste and the aesthetic principles of nature, and giant advertising screens are spread throughout most of Iraq’s cities. They are distributed in prominent places and what is shown in them is seen by everyone without exception.