Behind Iran's game of disinformation

In recent years, social media has frequently announced the removal of hundreds of fake accounts, groups, and pages originating in Iran for engaging in “coordinated manipulation.” These actions, taken by Facebook and Twitter, have been followed on at least one occasion by a sharp reaction from Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javad Zarif.

It is highly amusing that Zarif complained that the suspended accounts belonged to real Iranian users — as if he were in touch with hundreds of disgruntled locals who had been banished from Twitter. And it is doubly amusing, given the fact that all social networks are blocked in Iran by government authorities.