'Dozens of pro-Indy accounts went offline when Israel bombed Iran'
Many had posted hundreds of times per week on X (formerly Twitter), often using pro-independence slogans, anti-UK messaging, and identity cues like 'NHS nurse' or 'Glaswegian socialist.'
But all have stopped issuing messages at the same time and have remained silent since.
The sudden disappearance was picked up by other users of social media platform, which is being described as 'the most visible rupture to date in a long-running foreign influence operation' by the journal.
It accuses Tehran of Tehran, 'deliberately using the Scottish independence issue to weaken its adversary by amplifying internal division' through its concentrated and covert social media canmpaign.
Iranian bots haven't posted for four days. Fiona, Where are ye noo? https://t.co/MrqUTX9wnB — The Majority #AbolishHolyrood (@themajorityscot) June 16, 2025
The use of automatic 'bots' and 'astroturf' of 'sock puppet' (fake) accounts on social media by state actors and rabble rousers is a known phenomenon, with Rusia often suspected to deploying such techniques to guide narratives around divisive topics such as immigration.
It is also suspected that it has been used to influence elections. However, the existence of such a wide-ranging network has never been proven.
One veteran open-source intelligence researcher told the Journal: 'The timing, posting patterns, and network structure all point in one direction.
'What we're seeing is classic IRGC-linked activity: coordinated accounts posting at regular intervals, linguistic and thematic uniformity across profiles, and sudden synchronous silence.
A study by researchers at Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub previousy identified more than 80 accounts posing as socially conscious British users.
"Jake", "Fiona" and "Lucy" have been inactive since the 12 of July.
For such prolific pro-nationalist posters on the platform I don't understand what happened to them all on the 12th of July?
Hmmmmm.... now what could have happened. pic.twitter.com/VJEc014b0b — ScotFax (@scotfax) June 23, 2025
Many carried biographies such as 'Ex NHS Nurse. Hopeful for a better future with a lot less inequality,' designed to appear credible to domestic audiences.
The Clemson team concluded that these accounts were likely operated by or on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Their objective appeared to be the amplification of domestic political tensions in the UK, particularly around constitutional issues.
Since late 2021, the network produced around 250,000 tweets designed to blend into genuine political discourse and engage real users.
The content mixed pro-independence rhetoric with populist criticism of the UK government, anti-monarchy sentiment, and solidarity with progressive causes.
One tweet, which was viewed over a million times, stated, 'the people robbing this country travel by private jet not by dinghy.'
Another drew attention to Prince George receiving flying lessons at age 11, contrasting it with worsening poverty across the UK.
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