Iran’s Broadcaster: Inauthentic Behavior
This Facebook takedown report exposes a nine-year influence operation linked to Iran’s state broadcaster, and features Graphika's independent assessment of the network’s assets.
On April 30, 2020, Facebook took down over 500 pages, groups, and accounts that it attributed to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation, or IRIB, the Iranian state broadcaster. Parts of the network were live at the moment of the takedown; others had been briefly active as far back as 2011. Overall, the takedown covered nine years of sporadic activity in almost as many languages.
Ben Nimmo
Head of Investigations
Ben Nimmo was Head of Investigations at Graphika, where he led an expert team of OSINT investigators in detecting, identifying and analyzing inauthentic behavior and information operations online. He specializes in analyzing patterns of online disinformation and influence operations across varying platforms and geographical regions. He is now the Principal Investigator, Intelligence & Investigations at OpenAI.
C. Shawn Eib
Analyst
Léa Ronzaud
Senior Analyst
Léa Ronzaud leads monitoring and investigations into the detection and tracking of Russian influence operations and violent extremist groups. She also researches nihilistic violent extremism and hacktivism. Léa’s work has helped disrupt efforts by extremists in multiple countries to orchestrate real-world harm and exposed the inner workings of nation-state influence operations from Russia, China, and Iran.
Rodrigo Ferreira
Lead Engineer
Thomas Lederer is Vice President of Technology at Graphika, where he leads development and optimization of the company’s software platform and analytic solutions. He previously directed Graphika’s intelligence data team and has contributed to multiple reports and investigations, bringing a background that combines technology leadership and research work.
Melanie Smith
Head of Analysis
Melanie Smith was Head of Analysis at Graphika, where she studied online social movements, disinformation, and election integrity.
Download the complete PDF
The full report includes the complete network graph maps, raw attribution indicators, cross-platform topology analysis, and the full takedown timeline with platform-level data.
- Full network graph visualizations
- Attribution indicators with confidence scores
- Raw behavioral modeling data
- Takedown coordination timeline
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