WHY DOES IRAN CARE ABOUT SCOTLAND?

STORIES about Russian disinformation are everywhere. The Kremlin is reported to be behind everything from the election of Donald Trump to the social media apps Gab and Parler. But there is another state that been quietly increasing its disinformation capabilities over recent years: The Islamic Republic of Iran.

Tehran initially enjoyed an ambivalent relationship with information technology. When the internet, and especially social media, first appeared, the regime knew that it was dealing with a powerful tool for social organisation and possible dissent. The Russians had spent much of the Cold War conducting information warfare (so-called “active measures”) against the West, and immediately understood that the digital revolution offered them a new and improved means of continuing to do this.

Iran’s instinct was to censor and ban. I still remember the endless frustrating afternoons in Tehran internet cafes trying to bypass the national block on Facebook.

Eventually, though, the regime understood that the internet could not be shut out, either completely or forever: it had to be harnessed. The decision was made and the regime has never looked back.

It now employs a full suite of disinformation tools. Trolls and “sock puppets” whirr away online alongside proxy media outlets, websites and social media accounts that masquerade as “independent” but are all geared toward promoting the Islamic Republic and undermining its enemies.

Last year, US prosecutors seized a network of 92 web domains posing as independent media sites targeting audiences in the United States, Europe, Middle East and South East Asia. It was part of campaign by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to spread political disinformation in a host of countries. The network was said to be part of an interference campaign targeting the United States ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Like the very best disinformation actors, Iran seeks so-called “wedge issues” – points where it can divide and undermine target populations. Elections and referendums are naturally fertile ground for this. People are divided and emotions run high. It’s why Russia targeted both the US election and the Brexit vote of 2016.

Make no mistake: May’s election in Scotland will be avidly followed not just in London and Edinburgh, but also in Moscow and Tehran.