A new report from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) details a coordinated influence operation by Russian and Iranian actors aimed at U.S. conservative audiences — especially online communities that identify with the MAGA movement. The campaign deploys inauthentic accounts, false-flag conspiracy narratives, and a handful of high-visibility American influencers to steer debate and widen ideological rifts.

From 1 May to 10 June 2025 researchers logged more than 675,000 posts promoting false-flag explanations for shootings, bombings and other violence. These claims usually allege that the U.S. government, Israel, or “globalists” staged events to tighten control or **discredit conservatives. Most amplification appeared on X, Telegram and TikTok feeds with large pro-Trump followings.

The surge almost always begins with anonymous bot accounts. Many sport profile pictures of U.S. soldiers or bald eagles but show machine-translated phrasing typical of Russian sources. After a few days of generic pro-Trump memes, the accounts pivot to sharper disinformation wrapped in anti-Biden or anti-NATO rhetoric.