When X (formerly Twitter) enabled a feature allowing users to see an account’s country of origin and how it connects to the platform—whether directly, via iPhone, Android, or through a VPN—it did more than tweak a setting. It pulled back a curtain to expose foreign influence operations and revealed much about the digital fingerprints of Iran’s expanding cyber-propaganda machine.
For years, analysts and security officials have warned that hostile states are probing and manipulating the democratic debate in Britain. The Kremlin was long the chief suspect, but now it appears Tehran—less flamboyant, more patient—has been building an online army to seed division, poison discourse and subtly tilt British politics in directions useful to the Islamic Republic.
For years, analysts and security officials have warned that hostile states are probing and manipulating the democratic debate in Britain.
Evidence appeared in 2019 as Iranian networks sought to amplify political content around the Scottish independence referendum. At the time, the identification of such networks involved laborious analysis of posting patterns, language anomalies, and coordinated behavior. Today, a single click can expose them.
Take “Jessica” @jess89911, or “Alisa Stewart” @AlisaStewart97—accounts posing as young Scottish women advocating independence for Scotland. The profile pictures are generic, the Scottish sentiments earnest, and the posts tailored to influence debate. But with X’s new transparency feature, the facade collapsed instantly: Android apps in Iran connected “Jessica/Alisa.”
X’s policy has unmasked a stream of Iranian cyber accounts broadcasting narratives and debates favorable for Tehran to influence the political mood in the West. It has also unmasked fake Iranian dissidents, activists, and journalists. The simple fact that they connect to the internet directly without a VPN exposes them as regime insiders, for the ability to connect directly to certain internet sites without a VPN is a privilege available only to those tied to the regime. Real dissidents inside Iran could never risk that. Iran’s cyber army, however, operates with impunity.
Tom Tugendhat, the former Minister of State for Security in the Tory administration, also flagged the X account for @AlisaStewart97—“Can you see from this why she might be lying?” Tugendhat asked pointedly.
This episode reminds that efforts to sway Westen debate is not confined to Russia’s troll farms or China’s state-backed misinformation outlets. The Islamic Republic of Iran also conducts influence operations targeting British voters, not only on emotive issues like Scottish independence but also sanctions policy, and the stability of Westminster politics, especially after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza.
The regime’s cyber networks, once hidden behind layers of VPN obfuscation, suddenly appear amateurish and exposed.
The new transparency tools have provoked a wave of discoveries on Iranian social media. Iranians themselves—often critical of the regime—have begun sharing screenshots exposing accounts posing as activists, journalists, or political commentators who, in fact, log in directly from Iran. The regime’s cyber networks, once hidden behind layers of VPN obfuscation, suddenly appear amateurish and exposed. Their task is to discredit the genuine dissidents, sow divisions among the opposition, spread disinformation, and build up their own agents as worthwhile opposition leaders.
These accounts do not merely promote propaganda; they mimic real grassroots voices, hijack domestic debates, and algorithmically amplify divisive narratives crafted to fracture British unity and distract democratic institutions.
X deserves credit for this step toward transparency—whether intentional or accidental. It should not fall to a social media company, however, to safeguard Britain’s democratic integrity and security. The exposure of Tehran’s cyber-propaganda efforts must be a wake-up call. Foreign states are not simply watching our political debates and elections. They are actively participating in them.
