Pro-independence social media accounts go silent after Iran hit by airstrikes
Dozens of social media accounts supporting Scottish independence have gone dark since Iran was hit by air strikes, according to reports.
Many accounts which used pro-independence slogans and anti-UK messaging on X, formerly Twitter, went silent after June 12, according to the UK Defence Journal.
This was when a major Israeli airstrike campaign against Iranian military and cyber infrastructure took place. Iran then had severe fuel shortages and a media blackout.
Labour MP for East Renfrewshire Blair McDougall told the Record: 'This is a reminder that our enemies see the chaos of nationalism as a way to weaken us.
'At a time when the SNP refuse to update their defence policy to confront the realities of threats from Vladimir Putin and other dictators, this should give pause to anyone tempted to give the SNP another five years.'
Between 2022 and 2024 researchers from the American Clemson University had identified more than 80 accounts posing as users from the UK. They identified themselves with descriptions like 'NHS nurse' or ' Glaswegian socialist'.
They concluded that these accounts were probably ran by or on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Since late 2021 they had produced roughly 250,000 tweets. The messages mixed pro- independence and progressive messages with criticism of the UK Government and the monarchy.
One message - viewed a million times - read: 'The people robbing this country travel by private jet not by dinghy.'
According to Clemson, the accounts were responsible for at least four per cent of all Scottish independence -related posts on X in early last year. This was about four times more than the official SNP account in the same period.
One of the lead researchers on the project Darren Linvill said the aim was to create the impression that support for independence was bigger than it was.
He said: 'Anyone in sales will tell you the bandwagon fallacy is a powerful tool.'
The accounts received hundreds of thousands of retweets, likes, and comments.
But after the Israeli attacks - which reportedly hit infrastructure linked to the IRGC - the accounts which had previously posted regularly suddenly stopped doing so.
Within two days of the strikes Iran only had five per cent internet access.
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