IRAN’S state broadcaster used fake social media accounts in an attempt to influence the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, a report from Facebook has revealed.

According to the social media giant, the network points to efforts by state-linked groups to try and utilise Facebook to meddle in foreign elections before the alleged Russian campaign in the 2016 US vote.

The network of more than 500 accounts was linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation and date back to 2011 – audiences in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America were targeted.

Some accounts operated for longer than others – briefly, the 2014 referendum was a target for the network which had a handful of accounts posting pro-Yes content.

Those posts included cartoons portraying then prime minister David Cameron as “the embodiment of English oppression” according to analysis company Graphika, which verified Facebook’s findings independently.

The network also promoted libertarian candidate Ron Paul in the 2012 presidential elections, and the anti-capitalist Occupy movement. But Graphika’s report said these three instances were brief and had little impact.

The report said: “The focus on western democratic exercises appears to have been a short-lived experiment conducted with a relatively small number of accounts: it did not have the scale, the sophistication, or the duration of the later Russian efforts.”

The report found the more sustained campaigns were Arabic and involved memes linked to articles critical of Iran’s geopolitical foes, particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Recently the content has focused on coronavirus and framed the pandemic as an attack on Iran.