Reddit says website hosted Iranian influence operation
More than a third of the accounts identified by Reddit had been banned.
(AP) - Reddit, one of the world’s most popular websites, discovered scores of accounts linked to a suspected influence operation recently reported to be covertly promoting pro-Iranian political narratives on Facebook and Twitter, Reddit’s chief technology officer has said.
The same group accused last month of exploiting social media services by secretly promoting Iranian political interests also operated over 100 accounts on Reddit, said Christopher Slowe.
“Reddit uncovered 143 accounts believed to be connected to the particular influence group identified by FireEye,” the Silicon Valley-based security firm that warned of the group’s activities in a report released late last month, Slowe wrote on Reddit.
“This group focused on steering the narrative around subjects important to Iran, including criticism of US policies in the Middle East and negative sentiment toward Saudi Arabia and Israel,” as well as discussions on topics regarding both Syria and the Islamic State terrorist group, said Slowe.
More than a third of the accounts identified by Reddit had been banned prior to publication of FireEye’s report, and around 60 per cent were relatively dormant, compared to active Reddit users, he wrote in the post.
“While the overall influence of these accounts was still low, some of them were able to gain more traction. They typically did this by posting real, reputable news articles that happened to align with Iran’s preferred political narrative - for example, reports publicising civilian deaths in Yemen.
“These articles would often be posted to far-left or far-right political communities whose critical views of US involvement in the Middle East formed an environment that was receptive to the articles.”
