U.S. Department of Justice Blocked 27 Websites ‘Linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, November 5, the seizure and blocking of 27 websites linked to the “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” that were publishing false information.
The U.S. Department of Justice, noting that on October 7 it had also seized and confiscated 92 internet domains used by the “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” stated that these actions against websites affiliated with the IRGC are part of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat the dissemination of disinformation by foreign countries during U.S. elections.
The statement clarified that these websites were attempting to influence American audiences, despite the fact that some of them were entirely in Arabic or covered Middle Eastern news.
The Department of Justice stated that some of these websites contained anti-American, anti-Saudi, and anti-Israeli content in line with Iran’s foreign policy.
According to the report, some of these websites collected materials from others and published them under their own names. For example, a website called “Critical Studies” claimed that Senator Bernie Sanders was among its authors and had copied Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2018 article from an American newspaper.
Craig Fair, FBI Special Agent, the U.S. federal police in this case, stated in a statement, “Thanks to our continued cooperation with Google, Facebook, and Twitter, the FBI has been able to disrupt Iran’s government campaign and propaganda machine. We will continue to counter any efforts by foreign actors to spread disinformation in our country.”
The U.S. Department of Justice states that because these websites were purchased from domain registration companies based in the United States, it was able to seize them.
Twitter also announced last month that it had removed approximately 130 user accounts that appeared to be related to Iran.
According to Twitter, these accounts were attempting to disrupt the public discussion of the first debate of the U.S. presidential election.
William Evanina, head of the U.S. Counterintelligence and National Security Center, stated in August that Iran “is attempting to weaken U.S. democratic institutions and President Trump, and create division in the country before the 2020 elections.”
He added that Tehran’s motivation “stems from the perception that the re-election of Donald Trump will lead to the continuation of American pressure on Iran.”
Source: Radio Farda
