The most active accounts in the hashtag #your_treason_from_Bremer_to_Romanowski, with the number of tweets each account posted– InVID tool

These accounts use images of Muqtada Al Sadr, his father, Mohammed Sadiq Al Sadr, and the Iraqi Shiite leader Ali Al Sistani as profile pictures. Fake accounts play a significant role in the activities of electronic groups associated with Al Sadr’s movement. During this campaign, many fake accounts contributed to fueling interactions through the hashtag.

Many accounts were created in the summer of 2022, specifically between June and August. This is the period in which the political dispute between Al Sadr movement and Iranian-backed Iraqi factions peaked. Some of these accounts share the same name. They are only distinguishable by the numbers at the end of the handle. For example, there are at least 10 accounts with the name @alshqalabdy, but with different sequential numbers. One of them, @alshqalabdy7, tweeted 27 times using the hashtag #your_treason_from_Bremer_to_Romanowski

The account @AlywmAlmw outnumbered all others in using the hashtag, with a total of 47 tweets. The account, which was created in July, has over 4200 followers, with 95.2% of whom have no specified sex, according to the assessment of the Follower Wonk tool. This high percentage suggests that the accounts may be fake. What further supports this suggestion is that the activity of these accounts is largely limited to retweeting, without commenting on, or replying to tweets. 

Accounts of prominent supporters of Al-Sadr participated in the campaign. Accounts bearing the paid blue verification badge, which is acquired through the 'Twitter Blue' service, also participated. It is noteworthy that that Twitter grants accounts with paid blue badges higher visibility, reach, and interactions compared to regular accounts. This can be observed in the interactions with tweets from Iraqi accounts participating in the campaign.

From Telegram to Twitter

The campaign relied on coordinated efforts, from Telegram channels to Twitter. This coordination contributed to achieving high interaction rates compared to normal tweeting times. At least three channels, managed by supporters of Al Sadr, and having thousands of subscribers, began promoting the hashtag, which garnered 60,000 tweets, according to Twitter statistics visible in the screenshot below.

In the Telegram post shown in the image, the publisher attempts to rally subscribers to participate in the tweeting wave using the trending hashtag. They wrote: 'We want it to reach a quarter of a million by morning.'

Tweets focused on attacking the political parties affiliated with the Coordination Framework. Tweeters accused these parties of ‘selling the nation to the American occupier.’ These tweets were accompanied by some old photos, in addition to invoking the Framework’s relationship with Iran. It was also noted that many accounts posted the same tweets, amid a noticeable increase in interactions and retweets.

Misleading information, out of context

The campaign relied on misleading information to support its narrative and increase the popularity of the hashtag. Notably, they shared edited visuals accompanied by untrue narratives taken out of context. A picture was circulated showing Falih Al Fayyadh, head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, with claims that al-Fayyadh was receiving Austin during his recent visit to Iraq.

However, the reality is that the photo, while authentic, dates back to October 2014. At that time, Al Fayyadh was the National Security Advisor, while Austin was the Commander of U.S. Central Command. The U.S. Embassy had shared the photo on its social media accounts at that time, stating that Austin was "with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and National Security Advisor Dr. Falih Al Fayyadh." Facebook provided a disclaimer attached to most of these circulated images, stating that they lack context, while Twitter and TikTok did not take the same action.