Cyber experts say influence operations in ‘asymmetric’ campaign to intensify moral pressure on US and Israel
Iran has radically overhauled its social media strategy in an all-out information war launched by the country’s Islamic rulers in response to US and Israeli military attacks.
Cyber experts say Iranian foreign influence operations have gone into overdrive as part of an “asymmetric” campaign designed to complement its military retaliation and intensify moral pressure on the US and Israel into curtailing their war efforts.
It has meant flooding platforms such as X, Instagram and Bluesky with targeted postings calculated to exploit the war’s unpopularity in the US, including among supporters of Donald Trump.
Previous multi-pronged communications aimed at fomenting support for causes such as Scottish independence and Irish unification have been jettisoned in favour of a single-issue message that has included AI-generated videos and memes mocking Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister.
