Scottish independence accounts go dark after Iran internet blackout

[Kurokage]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...ng-article

Link to MSN version viewable to all

Pro-Scottish independence accounts on X have gone dark after an internet shutdown in Iran, exposing suspected links between the regime in Tehran and online influencers attempting to interfere with UK politics.
Multiple accounts on the social network went silent after authorities in Tehran imposed a blackout on the country’s internet in an attempt to quell anti-government protests.

Accounts claiming to be “Scottish Lad” Jake or “Proud Scottish lass” Fiona abruptly stopped posting on Jan 8 after the shutdown took hold.
Stephen Kerr, a Scottish Conservative MSP, urged the Government in Westminster to investigate the allegedly Iran-backed accounts and called on X to ban the network.
The accounts in question have shared dozens of conspiracy theories and negative news stories about the UK and Scotland in recent weeks.
One account, calling itself Fiona, claimed to be “passionate about Scotland’s independence & our right to self-determination”.

Among the latest false claims made by the account are the allegations that protesters have seized Balmoral Castle and that “huge tracts” of the Highlands are being “turned into a weapons lab”.
Another bizarre post from a separate account claimed that the British Government had engaged in a “coup” in Scotland and was sending Army trucks “rolling down the Royal Mile”. The suspected Iran-linked accounts were first identified by the UK Defence Journal.
Cyber security experts last year disclosed that thousands of posts discussing Scottish independence on X might have originated in Iran. Security firm Cyabra scanned thousands of X users and found 26pc of accounts discussing Scottish independence could be fake.

As of last summer, around 1,300 suspicious accounts had shared a combined 3,000 posts with an estimated 224 million views and 126,000 engagements such as replies, likes or shares.
Cyabra found that these accounts also went dark last year at the same time as an internet blackout in Iran on June 13 – after Israel launched air strikes against Tehran. The accounts remained dormant for 16 days before beginning to post again.
The Israeli cyber security company said the fake accounts appeared to be designed to “seed division, amplify existing tensions, and hijack political discourse”.
Mr Kerr, the Conservative MSP, said he had written to Dan Jarvis, the security minister at Westminster, calling for an investigation into the fake account network.
“What we already know should worry anyone who cares about the health of our democracy,” he said, adding the fake accounts had shown a “clear interest in weakening and destabilising the United Kingdom”.

If revealed to be fact, this is an interesting bit of News and shows the efforts of the Islamic Iranian state to try to cause unrest and disrupt democratic run countries.
If it's happening in the UK, where else are the Iranians trying to cause unrest and disrupt democratic processes, amplifying existing tensions?
Iran, China and Russia seem to be leading the world in this style of cyber warfare. Wasn't some of both MAGA and Democratic online profiles recently found out to be foreign? 

https://www.thewrap.com/maga-x-accounts-...erference/

Prominent MAGA X accounts have come under fire this weekend after being exposed to be foreign users from Thailand, Eastern Europe (non-EU), Nigeria and more.
After the social platform launched its new country-of-origin feature on Friday, such foreign influence has also been found on pro-Russian, pro-Iranian, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel accounts, among others.

[quintessentone]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...ng-article

Link to MSN version viewable to all

If revealed to be fact, this is an interesting bit of News and shows the efforts of the Islamic Iranian state to try to cause unrest and disrupt democratic run countries.
If it's happening in the UK, where else are the Iranians trying to cause unrest and disrupt democratic processes, amplifying existing tensions?
Iran, China and Russia seem to be leading the world in this style of cyber warfare. Wasn't some of both MAGA and Democratic online profiles recently found out to be foreign? 

https://www.thewrap.com/maga-x-accounts-...erference/

Good news for Scotland, now what about all those other foreign accounts that are pretending to be Scottish patriots (actually agitators)? Is a special AI algorithm required to root them out?

[Tecate]

I’m fairly certain that this is done by bad actors in every country to destabilize and create unrest and chaos. For sure any that have animosity towards others….

My 2 pesos…


Tecate

[Kurokage]

Good news for Scotland, now what about all those other foreign accounts that are pretending to be Scottish patriots (actually agitators)? Is a special AI algorithm required to root them out?

I imagine 'they' have scores of people and AI entirely created just to argue with each other, to fire up any actual real people participating in any of the discussions.

[quintessentone]

I imagine 'they' have scores of people and AI entirely created just to argue with each other, to fire up any actual real people participating in any of the discussions.

Oh no doubt, so another AI specific to rooting out those other AI bots is required? Or are AI bots actually arguing with each other?

[Kurokage]

I’m fairly certain that this is done by bad actors in every country to destabilize and create unrest and chaos. For sure any that have animosity towards others….

My 2 pesos…


Tecate

The problem is, countries like China and Russia have done their darndest to control and remove access to the rest of the world by it's people. Where as, even though we're usually moaning about restrictions and control's in the west, we're pretty much left alone (to a degree) to be interfered with!

[Kurokage]

Oh no doubt, so another AI specific to rooting out those other AI bots is required? Or are AI bots actually arguing with each other?

I wouldn't be surprised if AI bots were specifically designed to argue with each other to cause as much grief as possible. Firing up it's intended targets.

[midicon]

The problem is, countries like China and Russia have done their darndest to control and remove access to the rest of the world by it's people. Where as, even though we're usually moaning about restrictions and control's in the west, we're pretty much left alone (to a degree) to be interfered with!

I'm Scottish and not really fussed.

We have the illusion and they have the jackboot.

[quintessentone]

I'm Scottish and not really fussed.

We have the illusion and they have the jackboot.

Love the attitude.

[Kurokage]

I'm Scottish and not really fussed.

We have the illusion and they have the jackboot.

Even though I do tend to agree with you.

We can all be on here and say what ever we want about our countries of origin and such, not worrying about knocks at the door (for the most part). Whereas living in Iran, Russia and China there is the fear of that knock and yet they attack us for the little freedoms we do have.