Trudeau deletes tweet that cited false information in denouncing the Iranian regime

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office says it deleted a tweet that his account posted overnight denouncing the Iranian regime based on false information that had been circulating on social media.

The message said Iran's decision to impose the death penalty on nearly 15,000 protesters was ``barbaric,'' but that number has been widely discredited as disinformation.

The Prime Minister's Office says the tweet, which was online for about 11 hours, was based on initial reporting that was incomplete and lacked necessary context.

An Instagram post citing the figure was widely shared by celebrities before being removed, while Trudeau's office pointed to reports on news sites including Newsweek and Yahoo that shared the same information.

State media in Iran said on Sunday that an anti-government protester was being sentenced to death for what is believed to be the first time, a fact the PMO says ``we should not lose sight of.''

Human-rights demonstrations have continued during the two months since 22 year old Mahsa Amini died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women.