John Swinney si rifiuta di condannare i robot iraniani pro-indipendenza – mentre il governo britannico esorta ad indagare sulla “propaganda pericolosa”

John Swinney refused to condemn Iranian pro-Scottish independence bots who have flooded social media with messages supporting Scexit. The accounts have been accused of spreading “dangerous propaganda” with Iran a “hostile state” which would welcome the break up of the UK.

During the 2014 independence referendum, it was reported that Russia was secretly campaigning for the Yes side in a bid to destabilise the United Kingdom. Leading UK Government figures have said that it would be a boost for the Kremlin if the SNP succeed in splitting the UK.

There has been a recent update on X which has exposed the location of dozens of pro-Scexit bots which use generic profiles to campaign for Scottish independence. It comes after American researchers discovered a network of dubious posters which pumped out nationalist talking points.

Everyone on all sides needs to accept that foreign actors are going to try to stir up trouble in various different ways. Politicians shouldn’t need to publicly condemn every instance of foreign propaganda bots that happen to align with their own beliefs. Obviously a very different situation if the politicians are actively working with foreign actors.