Trump family’s Instagram accounts hit with pledges of Iran’s revenge
According to BuzzFeed, almost 30,000 Iran-related posts carrying intimidating messages have been identified.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFInstagram screenshot from Tiffany Trump's account.(photo credit: INSTAGRAM SCREENSHOT)
During Qasem Soleimani’s funeral, thousands of Instagram posts targeted accounts belonging to US President Donald Trump’s family members, BuzzFeed reported on Wednesday.According to the report, almost 30,000 Iran-related posts have been identified. First lady Melania Trump and the president’s daughter and adviser Ivanka were the ones who received the most intimidating messages, but also hit were the accounts of the president’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr., his daughter-in-law Lara Trump and the Trump company.Posts included Iranian flags, pictures of Soleimani and insults to Trump. Many featured a hashtag in Farsi that translates as “hard revenge.” According to Mahsa Alimardani, an expert on social media use in the Islamic Republic, the hashtag was one of the most popular in the country in the aftermath of the US strike that killed the Quds Force commander last Friday.Cindy Otis, a former CIA officer and the author of True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News, told BuzzFeed that the campaign was “essentially a digital ‘flex’ or effort to intimidate.”Instagram screenshot from Ivanka Trump's account (Instagram)“Since the strike last week, the Iranians have made a show of using a full-spectrum response, from the missile strikes last night to cyberattacks and attempts to manipulate international perception of their capabilities through information operations,” she added.While other social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Telegram are censored by Tehran’s authorities, Instagram can be used. The photo and video sharing application is owned by Facebook.“Tagging public figures on Instagram is not unusual during major global events,” a spokesperson for the social media giant told Buzzfeed.“We will take appropriate action if we find any content that violates our community guidelines, US sanctions law, or is the product of inauthentic behavior,” the spokesperson added.
