An independent UK review into foreign political interference could examine Iranian-linked activity targeting online debate around Scottish independence, following comments by Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander.
The review was announced after a former MEP was jailed for accepting Russian bribes and is expected to examine a wide range of foreign influence mechanisms, including covert digital operations. While Russia and China are widely expected to feature prominently, Alexander indicated that Iranian activity could also fall within scope.
“There’s been a lot of research in recent years indicating that there was Iranian activity in relation to the constitutional future of Scotland,” Alexander told reporters today. He referred specifically to changes in online behaviour following US strikes on Iran earlier this year, although he presumably meant the Israeli strikes, as those were the ones that caused the infrastructure blackout.
“When the Americans took their action that they did, we saw a significant reduction in the number of Iranian bots promoting Scottish independence on Scottish social media sites,” he said.
Alexander added that this supported a broad remit for the investigation.
“So it is right and appropriate that the investigation that is being undertaken looks at all actors who are trying to influence democratic decisions being made here in the United Kingdom,” he said.
The UK Defence Journal had earlier reported during Iran’s mid-June nationwide internet blackout that dozens of X accounts advocating Scottish independence abruptly fell silent following the strikes. The Journal subsequently reported that many of the same accounts resumed posting after the blackout ended, often with changes in tone and frequency.
Further UK Defence Journal analysis found that while the accounts appeared to route traffic through VPN servers in the Netherlands, X’s transparency tools flagged the devices as connecting via an Iran-based Android app store. We also reported that the network displayed hallmarks of coordinated inauthentic behaviour, including mutual amplification, highly similar posting patterns and the frequent use of AI-generated profile images.
In December, Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr formally urged the UK Government to examine what he described as a coordinated influence operation linked to Iran. In his correspondence, Kerr cited the UK Defence Journal’s earlier reporting on the blackout-linked silence and the technical indicators connecting the accounts to Iranian infrastructure.
Kerr also referenced analysis published by disinformation monitoring firm Cyabra, which found that roughly 1,300 of 5,083 accounts discussing Scottish independence on X showed characteristics of inauthentic behaviour. Cyabra estimated that the network generated up to 224 million potential views.
Alexander’s comments now suggest that Iranian-linked activity may be examined as part of the forthcoming review, marking the first time a senior UK minister has publicly acknowledged the possibility that Tehran-linked operations sought to influence debate around Scotland’s constitutional future.
I’m glad I normally view this site on a laptop, adverts on a mobile are horrendous!