Fake people with Facebook accounts are friending each other, and friending other people their creators have heard of. It’s a phenomenon as old as social media itself, but it’s only once there is a link to an Iranian-registered website that people started wondering if this was a problem.
Which brings us to the story of “Newsonair.org,” one of countless samey-looking news websites that copy-paste a handful of Reuters stories a few days a week. Unlike most such sites, NOA has become a big deal today, fueling wild speculation of Iranian “hackers.”
And they’re using the term hacker extremely loosely, as it isn’t clear what, if anything, the site has ever managed to accomplish apart from getting its phony Facebook personae friended by some people and listed on Linkedin.
Indeed, materially the only reason the story is even in the news is because a DNS lookup of NOA returns an address in Iran, and you know those Iranians.
Of course, the fact that a simple DNS lookup brings up an Iranian name and address does not support the notion that this was some deep-cover Iranian plot that they were desperately trying to keep on the down-low. Even the articles concede the operation doesn’t appear particularly sophisticated, but that the phony personae managed to get “at least 2,000 connections” in social media, a number which likely sounds high for the tech-illiterate readers the scare pieces target, but is probably only a bit more than your average highschooler.
The entire story originates with iSIGHT Partners, itself a relatively non-descript organization relying heavily on a presence in social media for credibility, and makes wild guesses as to what Iranian “threat actors” might conceivably be after. A tempest in a teapot, perhaps, but when that teapot has “made in Iran” stamped on it, that’s still good enough to make the front page of papers the world over.
Leave it to the good ole folks at “anti-war” to support the Iranian regime. You guys seem to love Putin, Assad, and the mullahs. Seems to me you simply support any regime who opposes America. I think you guys have confused “anti-war” with anti-American.
"Leave it to the good ole folks at 'anti-war' to support the Iranian regime in my imagination."
There, fixed that for ya.
"I think you guys have confused "anti-war" with anti-American."
Aren't you confusing pro-war with pro-American?
Big words from a small man, and i do not mean your name as I have the utmost respect or Jesus (PBUH). Until you give reasons for your general bullshit, put a sock in it.
Wonder why there is so much hate for a country who's leaders tried their best to remain out of the spotlight? Sabotage, assassinations and yet they refused to retaliate against their known assailants.
BP still thinks the OIL and Gas is theirs, they have had this idea since the company name was Anglo Iranian Oil, they were responsible when they asked the British to overthrow the elected Government of Iran, and they were responsible for asking the CIA to do so as well. Every problem Iran has had stems directly from that association and the actions of that company!
I just wonder what the middle East would be like if the BP and the US didn't overthrow the democratically elected Government and installed a right wing dictatorship!