Google blocks accounts in 'influence operation' linked to Iran

Google has said it blocked YouTube channels and other accounts over a misinformation campaign linked to Iran, on the heels of similar moves by Facebook and Twitter.

Google said yesterday that working with the cybersecurity firm FireEye, it linked the accounts to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as part of an effort dating to at least January 2017.

"We identified and terminated a number of accounts linked to the IRIB organization that disguised their connection to this effort," Google vice president Kent Walker said in a statement. "Actors engaged in this type of influence operation violate our policies, and we swiftly remove such content from our services and terminate these actors' accounts."
"The activity we have uncovered highlights that multiple actors continue to engage in and experiment with online, social media driven influence operations as a means of shaping political discourse," FireEye said. "These operations extend well beyond those conducted by Russia."