Legos at War: Iranian information operations

The Iranian regime has displayed an increasingly active information operations campaign in response to U.S. military operations. Its widespread and apparently effective online messaging in particular suggests a government that is becoming adept in the information environment. 

Those of a certain age will remember that the predominant information operations (IO) efforts of Iran in the past consisted largely in having mass crowds chanting “Death to America” and ineffectual governmental condemnations of U.S. activities. It seems to be fair to assume that Iranian IO was not a particularly high priority for U.S. planners in the leadup to the military operations against Iran. The reality, however, is that Iranian IO has become an increasingly salient aspect of the conflict. 

The best-known aspects of Iranian IO have been a series of video produced by Explosive Media, a company in Iran, reportedly with under 10 employees. Although it refers to itself as “independent” a leader of the group acknowledged that the Iranian government is a “customer.” The group – called by another source as Explosive News – existed before the war, but its output reportedly was rather primitive. 

Read more at Small Wars Journal