Britain Is Finally Waking Up to the Dangers of Information Warfare

When Iran imposed an internet blackout following Israeli airstrikes last year, hundreds of social media accounts devoted to Scottish independence suddenly went quiet. Profiles such as “proud Scottish lass” Fiona were no longer online to share false details of protesters seizing Balmoral Castle or the UK government’s plans to turn tracts of the Highlands into weapons labs. It’s hard to imagine an experiment more effectively designed to demonstrate the presence of malign foreign interference.

Britain has been slow to wake up to the potential for overseas actors tilting the information landscape and sowing mistrust in its political system. It’s a role reversal for a country that has been more accustomed to preaching the values of democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression to the outside world, rather than watching its own back. Authoritarian states, having ignored the lectures, focused on sharpening their social-media and infiltration skills.