Thread by @marcowenjones

[Thread] 1/ What follows is an examination and identification of a MENA sockpuppet network I've been following for some time. Unlike crude bot networks for hire, this one has a clear anti-Erdogan, anti-Muslim Brotherhood and pro-authoritarian agenda. #disinformation

2/ The first notable thing about this network is that it's almost exclusively run by accounts with photos of attractive young Arab women. Very catfish-esque. It was probably bigger at one point, but in October 2020 there were around 64 of these accounts. The photos are

3/ presumably to drive engagement. But there is also the danger that the images were designed to facilitate phishing through honey traps. The accounts largely follow the same modus operandi. They have a scenic image of an Arab country as their banner image. They post touristic

4/ content when they are not posting political tweets. However, in between this banal content they will post pointed political tweets directed usually at supporting their respective autocratic leader, or criticising the muslim brotherhood (MB) or Turkey. For example, @tiaashrraf_

5/ who claims to be from Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia, criticizes on a number of occasions the Ennahdha party, and criticizes former parliamentary speaker Rached Ghannouchi. She will also praise figures like Abeer Moussa for fighting the MB, and clearly associate the MB with terror

6/ As you can see from below, the accounts often target Turkey, accusing it of being the source of terror in the region, and singling out Erdogan for abuse. They also revel in Turkey's economic misfortunes. #disinformation

7/ An analysis of the networks activity, that included around 5000 interactions (tweets, retweets etc) across the past 3 months shows that the most common terms (excluding stop words and Allah) used by the network are "brotherhood" (Ikhwan) and Turkey. This indicates the focus

8/ of the network recently is on Turkey and the brotherhood. They are also sensitive about the Turkish news channel @TRTArabi , with the accounts often responding to tweets by them. Clearly they see themselves as protecting against Turkish influence in the Arab world

9/ Overall the network seems very aligned with UAE foreign policy. The accounts, despite being from across the Arab world, praise the UAE frequently. The only time they don't criticize Turkey when mentioning it is when it appeared there was some UAE/Turkey rapprochement

10/ Other indicators that the network reflects UAE foreign policy is the fact the network praises Tunisian President Qais Saied and Egyptian Pres Sisi. They also criticise Qatar, with many of them jumping on the #WhereisNoof hashtag (won't explain that now).

11/ in addition to the photos and touristic images, the network is identifiable by the common posting patterns, the fact that all of the accounts use Twitter Web Client, and the fact that all of them block me without me having interacted with them. 😅 Another interesting element

12/ is the evolution of the network. The account consist of appropriated (hacked/stolen/bought) Twitter accounts from real users that have gradually taken on new identities. Look at the image below, you will see how at around Nov 21, the accounts all changed their handles to

13/ sound more Arabic. So for example, 'bozkcute_28' became LamaFathy and prettysmile010 became sara_saraahmedd. They all changed at the same time, possibly being one of the reasons that prompted Twitter to suspend many of the accounts. #disinformation

14/ On that note. Twitter have suspended most of the network gradually. I say gradually as they do it in stages. It is not clear if these accounts will appear in Twitter's state-backed information operations archives. As yet, the following accounts are still live >

15/ Some of you may remember that Twitter suspended a few of the accounts back in October after I did a thread about how the network were targeting the human rights organisation @ALQST_Contact . Despite this, most of the account remained active for months

16/ So to sum up, Twitter are in the process of suspending a large MENA sockpuppet network that is

1) Pro UAE
2) Anti Muslim Brotherhood
3) Anti Turkey
4) Anti Qatar
5) Pro Qais Saied
6) Pro Sisi
7) Anti Iran
8) Anti human rights orgs focused on UAE/Saudi

#disinformation