Stop the bots if we want to save democracy
‘I was born Scottish and I will Never be British,” tweeted Fiona last year on X, with the hashtag “ScottishIndependence”. Jake joined in, with a picture of the saltire, urging his followers to retweet it if they are proud to be Scottish. One Ewan McGregor added to the excitement, insisting “the call for independence is no longer a dream — it’s a democratic necessity”.
But then the internet in Iran was shut down as US bombers attacked the country’s nuclear sites. Suddenly, Fiona, Jake, Ewan and dozens of other keen advocates of Scottish independence stopped posting messages. Last month, as the regime launched its murderous crackdown on peaceful protesters, the same happened again. The truth has been revealed: large numbers of social media accounts with Scottish-sounding names, all advocating the break-up of the UK, are actually Iranian bots.
The disinformation firm Cyabra reported that in May and June last year, before the internet went dark in Iran, 26 per cent of all accounts arguing for Scottish independence were fake. An earlier study by Clemson University found that 4 per cent of all X content relating to independence was linked to a single network of Iranian-backed bots, generating several times more activity than the Scottish National Party.
Why Scottish X accounts vanished after Iran’s internet shutdown
It is time we recognised democracy is under serious and sustained attack, not only in Ukraine by military invasion, or Hong Kong where it has been ruthlessly quashed, but across the globe. Foreign exploitation of social media to cause internal division is only one aspect. Initial attempts to frustrate it are under way, with new powers for Ofcom in the UK and some increased transparency on social media sites. The swathe of Iranian activity revealed in recent weeks suggests such defences are not yet effective.
The attack on democracy takes many other forms: “strongmen” leaders in many countries undermine the judiciary, corrupt the media and twist election results. Even in the United States, the private interests of some in office have become conflated with public service, always a dangerous development in a democratic society.
1
Live
Iran war latest: No safe haven for US forces in region, says supreme leader
Middle East
Iran war latest: No safe haven for US forces in region, says supreme leader
2
New
The 10 best TV shows to watch in June 2026
TV & Radio
The 10 best TV shows to watch in June 2026
3
Five great paperbacks to read this month
Books
Five great paperbacks to read this month
4
25 of the best hotels in the Cotswolds for 2026
Cotswolds
25 of the best hotels in the Cotswolds for 2026
5
New
Oliver Glasner was almost sacked — now he’s on brink of European glory
Football
Oliver Glasner was almost sacked — now he’s on brink of European glory
1
Live
Iran war latest: No safe haven for US forces in region, says supreme leader
Middle East
Iran war latest: No safe haven for US forces in region, says supreme leader
2
Why did a judge spare teenage rapists from custody?
Crime
Why did a judge spare teenage rapists from custody?
3
UK heatwave: Britons swelter through ‘tropical night’
Weather
UK heatwave: Britons swelter through ‘tropical night’
4
Oil price rises after US strikes on Iran dampen peace deal hopes
Economics
Oil price rises after US strikes on Iran dampen peace deal hopes
5
New
B&Q owner Kingfisher reports ‘resilient’ start to the year
Companies & Markets
B&Q owner Kingfisher reports ‘resilient’ start to the year
Last week I listened to a powerful lecture by the writer Anne Applebaum who argues in her book Autocracy, Inc that today’s assault on democracy is unlike anything seen in the Second World War or the Cold War. “Nowadays,” she says, “autocracies are not run by one bad guy but by sophisticated networks, relying on kleptocratic financial structures, a complex of security services — military, paramilitary and police — and technological experts who provide surveillance, propaganda and disinformation.”
Autocracy in America review — is the US becoming a police state?
Add to all this the failure of democratic institutions in many countries to deliver responsive leadership and economic prosperity, and the overall result is deepening disillusionment. One recent poll found satisfaction with democracy is below 50 per cent in many western countries that are usually its strongest home, such as the US, UK, France and the Netherlands. In Britain we easily take our democracy for granted. Didn’t we see off Hitler? Won’t Scottish voters just see through Iranian propaganda? Surely it will all take care of itself? Possibly. But as more of the world slides into the hands of corrupt ruling groups of various kinds, focused on their own wealth and power at the expense of their people, we and other countries ought to look to our defences.
It is no longer too alarmist to argue that democracy is under threat globally and that the consequences are being felt in Britain. A good question for all party leaders is what they will do to defend it and revitalise it. All politicians believe that if only they can get into power, democracy will be saved by their effectiveness. But the extreme disappointment with the first 18 months of the current government shows we need much more than that heroic assumption. On top of the obvious requirement to be able to defend the country against military attack — obvious but not currently satisfied — what does an agenda to defend democracy look like?
It has to start with recognising that the current structure of social media platforms might prove incompatible with democracy. It is intolerable that foreign bots can spread hatred and division in an open society. Platforms that continue to facilitate such activity should face ruinous fines. But that is only one aspect of the divisions exacerbated by business models designed to maximise attention rather than spread understanding. We need to begin the debate on how to change that, even if some powerful people lose part of their wealth as a result.
Who controls the internet — and has the power to turn it off?
Applebaum again: “Customers of social media platforms should be able to own their own data and determine what is done with it. They should also be able to influence, directly, the algorithms that determine what they see.” This is the sort of thing that Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the world wide web, has also been advocating. Governments should get behind these ideas. We should not be restricting freedom of speech, but rather ensuring greater freedom and choice. A crucial reform would be to require interoperability of platforms so that new social media companies could not be shut out by the powerful networks of today’s giants. Seed funding for pro-democracy technology, designed for civilised debate rather than intensifying anger, could help start the change.
Yet democracy doesn’t just need defending. It needs renewing. We should expect our parties to produce plans to improve accountability, speed up government and involve responsible citizens. My own list of ideas would include allowing voters to recall MPs who defect to a different party and force them to face a by-election. Having served as an MP for 26 years I cannot imagine how an elected member can look constituents in the eye after so ignoring their wishes. But that is a topical reaction to recent events. More fundamental would be the use of digital technology to speed up dramatically the processes of government. This has begun: the use of AI to analyse rapidly the thousands of responses to a consultation on abolishing Ofwat recently shows how we can use new technologies to improve decisions in a democracy.
Much more use could be made of citizens’ assemblies. Wouldn’t the debates on assisted dying have benefited from parliament convening a body of citizens giving their informed views, as Demos advocated? Or couldn’t ministers have saved themselves the endless U-turns on digital ID if they had asked such an assembly what they thought? If Ireland could sort out its abortion laws that way, many intractable issues could be tackled with the participation of voters.
We need to make democracy healthy and even save its life. Give citizens power over technology rather than the other way round. Revitalise accountability, responsiveness and participation. Our leaders might have better ideas — we should be asking them to produce them.