Statistics and figures for hashtags that appeared and were circulated after the bombing of Erbil by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Note: These numbers are not 100% accurate, as we relied on assistance tools, including the (Fedica) website, to display these numbers and percentages based on the hashtags circulated after the bombing of Erbil. Some accounts (see Figure 1) published posts unrelated to the events but used the same hashtag to have their posts appear on the trending content on X (Twitter formally) during the search.

In the early minutes of Tuesday, January 16, 2024, the ground shook with the sound of explosions in Erbil province. It was soon revealed that the city was under bombardment, but the nature of the attack was not clear at that moment. Various accounts and narratives began to circulate immediately, including a video accompanied by a claim stating: ‘Urgent: American consulate Anti-aircraft in Erbil tries to intercept the missiles, but fails.”

However, after a thorough investigation by the Tech4Peace team, it was revealed that the circulated video is old and dates back to 2022 when the US Embassy in Baghdad was targeted in a missile attack. The footage shows the American C-RAM system intercepting the attack.

After some time, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for this attack, asserting that they destroyed spy headquarters and gatherings of terrorist groups hostile to Iran, according to their statement.

However, Iraq has denied this narrative, as conveyed by Qasim Al-Araji, the National Security Advisor and the head of the investigation committee into the attack on Erbil formed by the Prime Minister. Al-Araji stated on his official Twitter account: "We inspected the site in the field, along with members of the investigation committee, at the residence of the targeted businessman last night in Erbil. It became clear that the allegations talking about targeting a Mossad headquarters have no basis in truth. We continue meetings with the security agencies in the region, and we will submit the report to the Commander-in-Chief."

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement strongly condemning the aggression on Iraqi territory and sovereignty through its official Facebook page. The statement read: "The government of the Republic of Iraq expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian aggression on the city of Erbil, manifested by the missile strikes on safe residential areas, resulting in casualties among civilians. Considering the destruction caused by the bombardment and the occurrence of numerous innocent victims due to the shelling of residential buildings, including the residence of the Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and his family, which led to his martyrdom and injuries to members of his family. The government of the Republic of Iraq considers this behavior an aggression against the sovereignty of Iraq and the security of the Iraqi people. It is also a violation of good neighborliness and the security of the region. The government affirms that it will take all legal measures, including filing a complaint with the Security Council, in response to this aggression."

The misleading news did not stop at this point but continued by numerous accounts supportive of the Iranian stance. This was achieved through distorting the facts about the presence of Israeli aircraft or Israeli soldiers in the city of Erbil. The deception even extended to falsifying the template of television channels to give credence to the disinformation campaign used to support the Iranian narrative.

These examples illustrate some of the systematic misinformation that has been practiced to support the Iranian narrative and justify the deaths resulting from the bombing:

          1- The circulation of a news piece designed in the Instagram template of Al Jazeera channel, accompanied by a text stating, ‘An emergency meeting of the Israeli National Security Council against the backdrop of Iranian strikes on Israeli sites in Erbil.”

But in fact, the circulated post is fabricated, as Al Jazeera did not report a similar news story. The fabricator modified the template by writing the fake text, and the clear difference between the font used by the channel in its news reporting and the one used in the fake post is evident. For the full investigation, click here.

         2- A photo circulated on many Iranian news websites and social media platforms claiming to show the Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee in a military barracks, surrounded by Kurdish security personnel, including an individual with the emblem of the Kurdistan Freedom Party on their shoulder. Additionally, there is a person next to him labeled in Persian as a "Mossad Intelligence Officer."

However, after research and investigation, it became clear that the circulating image was fabricated for the purpose of deception, and it was modified by adding (Peshraw Dizayee) to the original version, which did not contain his presence, by removing some details of the image. For the full investigation, click here.

         3- In the same context, a number of Iranian media outlets published another photo showing (Peshraw Dizayee) with a Jewish rabbi, claiming that it was taken on the Jewish Day of Atonement.

However, after research and investigation, the photo was modified by placing a picture of Peshraw instead of a Jewish person named (Elan Nissim). To read the full investigation click here.

Statistics with the time of the bombing and thereafter:

These statistics are based on 18,000 posts (or reposts), with the search period placed on the Fedica website from (January 14, 2024, until January 24, 2024.)

The hashtags used in this research were (#أربيل_مأمن_الصهاينة #اربيل_وكر_الصهاينة #الحرس_الثوري_الإيراني #قصف_اربيل الموساد اربيل).

The translation of these hashtags are (#Erbil the safe place of  the Zionists. #Erbil, the den of the Zionists, #Iranian Revolutionary Guard, #Bombing Erbil, Mossad, and Erbil)

It's worth noting that the following words were extracted from the search process to avoid mixing other posts in this research (غزة طوفان الاقصى فلسطين مصر الاردن الامارات).

The translation of these words are (Gaza, Al-Aqsa Flood, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, UAE)

The total reach for these hashtags and the total number of posts, which amounted to 18,000 posts, was 179.6 million in a large number of countries and cities. The density of posts in each location can be identified through the color gradient displayed on the map according to the countries. (see Figure 2)

Among the total number of posts mentioned earlier, these numbers indicate the count of mentions, reposts, and original posts. (see Figure 3)

The percentages in this section indicate the number of posts for accounts that previously participated in one of the mentioned hashtags. If the number of posts is low, there is a possibility that the account is not genuine. In some cases, this may also be attributed to users who tried the platform and later abandoned it.

For example, the publishers who participated in the above hashtags and whose number of followers ranges between 100 - 1000 have a percentage of 28.1%, and so on for the rest, according to the following chart. (see Figure 4)

In terms of the languages used within these hashtags, whether in posts, reposts, or replies, Arabic was the first language, followed by Persian, as indicated by the figure below. (see Figure 5)

Based on the AI algorithm of the Fedica website for determining the Occupation of the users, the result was as indicated in the chart below. (see Figure 6)

Note: Looking at (figure 2), which displays a map of the countries from which the posts were published, it is observed that the blue color covers some countries, raising the question of their relevance to the bombing of Erbil. However, examples can be noted in the following (figures), and there are two reasons for the appearance of tweets from these distant countries. Firstly, the publishers and those who shared the posts may reside in these countries.

Secondly, publishers may be using a virtual private network known as a VPN.

In this image, it appears that there are several posts from India. By clicking on them, those posts will be displayed. (see Figure 7)

In this image, it appears that there are several posts from South Korea. By clicking on them, those posts will be displayed. (see Figure 8)

And the last example is from the Latin American continent, where it seems that there are several posts from Venezuela. By clicking on them, those posts will be displayed. (see Figure 9)                     

Note: The purpose of this report is to provide our readers with some numbers and ratios related to the bombing of Erbil and the hashtags used. Due to changes in policies, algorithms, and the API (Application Programming Interface) of the X platform (formally Twitter), many free tools have ceased to function. These tools were essential for tracking the source of posts (tweets), who started them, and how they spread. Some of the applications and websites that have stopped working include (hoaxy, botometer, onemilliontweetmap, socialbearing, and Treeverse).

Therefore, these statistics and numbers have been provided to shed light on and reveal some figures and statistics about misleading posts resulting from Systematic campaigns.