SNP need to stop denying Iranian influence in independence debate

These were a critical presence in the run up to the referendum in 2014, but since then have continued to agitate for a second referendum and make the case for Scotland separating from the rest of the UK.

There have been suspicions for a long time that there is more to a lot of these online accounts than first meets the eye, with concerns that we are seeing organised activity by bad actors overseas who have a vested interest in trying to undermine the United Kingdom. The evidence that this is indeed the case is starting to pile up.

George Allison, from the online magazine UK Defence Journal, has carried out some detailed research into one such online account in the name of “Fiona” posting at @Fiona175161. This was created in May 2024 with the biography “proud Scottish lass/passionate about Scotland’s independence and our right to self-determination/advocate for a free, fair and thriving Scotland/#Indyref2”. It is illustrated with an avatar of a young woman with a saltire cape, having all the characteristics of an image being created by AI. The messages from this account are consistently hostile to the UK Government, portraying Scotland as imprisoned within the Union but close to breaking away.

The account had amassed 2300 followers, many of whom were from similar pro-independence accounts. it is even followed by a number of politicians in elected office across different parties.

Allison reports that this account fell silent on the 13 th of June 2025, with no activity for 16 days. This was in line with hundreds of other accounts that had similar themes. This was not a coincidence. It was at that point that there were Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure causing a national blackout. “Fiona”, it seems reasonable to conclude, was posting from Tehran.

“Fiona” is far from an isolated example. Research by the disinformation detection company Cyabra looked at more than 5000 X profiles engaged in promoting pro-Scottish independence messages and found that 26 per cent were fake. Between them, they had 126,000 user engagements and an audience reach of more than 224 million potential views in just two months. After June 13 and the Israeli attack on Iranian infrastructure, this network went entirely silent for the same period of 16 days that ‘Fiona’ was silent for.

These same accounts, on resuming, started posting messages beyond the independence debate, but specifically targeting Israel and, in the words of Allison, posting comment: “punctuated with Tehran’s talking points, linking Iran’s struggle with Scotland’s and presenting Iran as victorious against its adversaries”.

There are, of course, genuine pro-independence voices on social media, just as there are many genuine pro-UK posters. They are perfectly entitled to have a voice.

But we cannot now ignore the overwhelming evidence that a sizeable portion of those online pushing anti-UK messages are the inventions of a rogue state seeking to destabilise the United Kingdom for its own political purposes.

It might be thought that this is a matter that should concern the Scottish Government, given the SNP’s commitment to independence and the need to ensure that our constitutional debate is not being influenced by those from outside our country with ulterior motives. Back in June, I raised this issue in the Holyrood Chamber with the SNP’s External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson, asking him whether the Government should not be concerned that its central policy objective was being actively backed by a terrorist state as part of its campaign to weaken the United Kingdom.

Rather than take the issue seriously, Robertson tried to slap me down, accusing me of seeking to smear people in Scotland who believe this country should be a sovereign state.

Of course, I was doing no such thing, but it does seem I hit a very raw nerve with the Cabinet Secretary. No one is suggesting that genuine Scots campaigning for independence are in the pay of Tehran, but that does not mean that Robertson should be putting his head in the sand and ignoring the reality that Iranian online bots are making common cause with independence supporters here.

The spread of disinformation has been made all the more easy in recent years due to the growth of social media. It is something that should concern us all, and the evidence of “Fiona” and similar accounts being based in Tehran cannot be ignored.

None of this is the Scottish Government’s fault, but one would expect the SNP to take the issue seriously, given its wider implications. Thanks to the UK Defence Journal we know there is a serious problem here that needs to be addressed, and I will be calling on social media platforms like X to ensure that these fake accounts are taken down.

It would be to the credit of Angus Robertson and the Scottish Government if they were to make common cause with me in this endeavour. If the political party most closely associated with the independence movement were to actively distance itself from these Tehran-based online accounts, rather than simply denying that there is an issue, that would be to their credit. Scotland’s constitutional future will continue to be debated, but that debate needs to be conducted in an open, honest and genuine manner. And that objective is much harder to achieve when we have those, who should know better, in denial about the extent of overseas malign interference in our discussions.