Top Takeaways
- The downward spiral of Russian state media on Twitter and Facebook continued in June. Monitored Russian accounts on Twitter saw a 17 percent decline in retweets and an 18 percent decline in likes compared to May, while state media Pages on Facebook experienced a roughly 30 percent drop in total interactions month over month. Whether due to government and social media companies’ restrictions or the public’s fatigue with Russia’s wartime propaganda, Russian accounts have struggled to maintain their pre-invasion following.
- China’s consul general in Belfast received the most likes and retweets of any monitored Chinese account on Twitter in June, earning roughly five times more likes than Xinhua, China’s largest media organization. This was due in part to her prolific output of more than 3,000 tweets in June, though that productivity was bested by China’s consul general in Osaka, who posted more than 7,000 tweets last month—an average of over 230 tweets per day.
- The three most retweeted tweets from Iran-backed state-media accounts all called attention to violence against Muslims in India, with one sarcastically comparing Indian and Israeli democracies, accompanied by images of Muslims’ homes being destroyed in each.
Russia
Twitter Metrics
This section analyzes the top accounts affiliated with and outputs from Russian state media and diplomatic/government Twitter accounts in June 2022. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator application programming interface (API). Engagement metrics are determined using Twitter’s public API and are up to date as of early July 2022.
In total, monitored Russian accounts posted 76,695 tweets in June. Those Tweets were retweeted and liked, respectively, 901,140 and 2,799,811 times during the month. That’s 621 less tweets, 190,241 less retweets, and 624,867 less likes than in May.
Most Retweeted Accounts
The following charts display the most retweeted Russian state media and Russian diplomatic/government accounts during the past month. Favorites and total tweets are also displayed.
Figure 1: The most retweeted and liked Russian state media (left) and diplomatic/government accounts (right) in June 2022.
Russia’s most influential state media accounts saw large drops in the number of retweets and likes that they generated in June when compared to May. RT en Español, the Kremlin’s most successful account, brought in roughly 18,100 fewer retweets and 31,800 fewer likes. RT’s main account saw even greater declines: it generated roughly 25,000 less retweets and 101,800 less likes, despite sending 216 more tweets. At the same time, engagement remained steady for state media employees like Helena Villar and Wyatt Reed. Ahi les Va, an RT-affiliated Spanish-language account that was created in April of this year, made it into the top ten most influential accounts for the first time.
On the diplomatic side, the account for Russia’s Embassy in Japan remained the most influential, though it lost around 33,000 retweets and 85,700 likes compared to May. This decrease can be partially attributed to the account tweeting 197 fewer times in June. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, saw its engagement increase by roughly 6,900 retweets and 17,300 likes.
Most Followers Gained
The following charts display the state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers from June 1 to June 30, 2022.
Figure 2: The Russian state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers in June 2022.
The relatively new account for Ahi les Va added 4,613 followers in June, a 45 percent jump. Ahi les Va’s most popular post was a cartoon depicting Russia telling the EU that it had lost its sovereignty to the United States. Other popular tweets bashed Ukraine and made fun of US President Joe Biden. Five individual journalists were in the top ten accounts with the largest follower gains.
Government accounts also saw some modest gains. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s account added 5,918 followers despite only posting five tweets in June. Russia’s Embassy in Colombia saw a 12 percent follower increase, which is likely tied to interest in last month’s Colombian elections. While several Russian government accounts gained more than 1,000 followers, their growth was nowhere near as significant as their Chinese counterparts. The top two Chinese government accounts gained more than 55,000 followers in June.
Most Mentioned Countries
The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in Tweets during the past month. Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America).
Figure 3: The most mentioned countries in tweets from Russian state media (left) and diplomatic/government accounts (right) in June 2022.
The most mentioned countries by Russian state media and government accounts were very similar in June. Unsurprisingly, Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union were the top four mentioned states. It is surprising, though, to see Sweden and Finland drop from state media’s top ten most mentioned list, given that both countries were invited to join NATO in June. It showcases the Kremlin’s effort to play down the importance of Sweden and Finland’s eventual accession.
Most Retweeted Accounts
The following charts display the accounts that have been retweeted most often by accounts monitored on the dashboard during the past month. The first chart displays the monitored accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts (for example, a diplomatic account retweeted by other diplomatic and state media accounts). The second chart displays the non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored accounts (for example, an independent media outlet or unaffiliated individual retweeted by diplomatic and state media accounts). Occasionally, accounts that should be monitored by the dashboard appear in the non-monitored retweet list, either because those accounts are new or because they were not previously identified. Those accounts are subsequently added to the relevant Hamilton account list.
Figure 4: Monitored Russian media and diplomatic/government accounts most retweeted by other monitored Russian media and diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
As with the previous month, monitored Russian accounts retweeted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs roughly three times more often than the next most amplified account. However, other statistics were less consistent. The Russian Embassy in Japan was retweeted 171 less times by monitored accounts in June than in May, while the generic account for Russia, @Russia, was retweeted 96 more times. RT Ultima Hora was also once again the most retweeted media account, though this is due in large part to the account’s habit of retweeting its own content.
Figure 5: Non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored Russian media and diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
Russia-linked accounts in June amplified a range of fringe figures on both sides of the political spectrum. The account for Ian Miles Cheong, a frequent RT op-ed contributor and far-right influencer, was among the most retweeted. Kremlin-linked media retweeted Cheong calling the January 6 attack on the Capitol “the most peaceful insurrection,” attacking “RINO” Republicans, and insulting drag queens. Moscow-affiliated accounts also regularly retweeted Max Blumenthal, the anti-imperialist founder of the site Grayzone, who blamed NATO for inflation and shared a misleading claim about Ukraine attacking ethnic minorities.
Most Retweeted Tweets
The following charts display the Tweets made by monitored accounts that have received the most retweets during the previous month. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API.
Figure 6: The most retweeted tweets from Russian state media accounts in June 2022.
The most retweeted posts from Kremlin-linked media play to familiar propaganda themes: bashing Ukraine, the EU, and NATO. Three of the top five most retweeted posts were written in Spanish, showcasing Russia’s reach in Latin America. The two English-language tweets came from the left-leaning outlet RedFish, which has steadily been growing its audience.
Figure 7: The most retweeted tweets from Russian diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
The top diplomatic posts similarly attack Ukraine, the United States, and NATO, while showcasing Russia’s ties to Latin America. Two of the top five posts were posted in Spanish.
Facebook Metrics
This section provides a summary analysis of Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook during the previous month. Data is sourced from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data analysis tool that provides insights into public content posted to Facebook. *NOTE—CrowdTangle data will be incorporated into the public dashboard in the summer of 2022.
Most Interactions
The following chart displays the Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook with the most interactions (reactions, comments, and shares) during the previous month. Though sorted by interactions, the chart also displays the average number of posts per day, page followers, and interaction rates (a calculation of total interactions divided by the number of posts and the number of followers of a Page), all of which are important metrics to contextualize the results.
Figure 10: Russian state media pages with the most total interactions on Facebook in June 2022.
RT Arabic, the Kremlin’s most successful Facebook page, continued to lead in interactions despite falling well behind its engagement level in May. The page had 810,000 less interactions in June than the previous month, and it lost nearly 30,000 followers. Interactions with RT’s page also fell by 200,000. On the flip side, LIFE.ru’s page saw a massive amount of growth. It brought in 191,491 interactions in June, compared to only 19,20 in May.
Unfortunately, a CrowdTangle issue prevented ASD from reviewing the performance of RT en Español, which is generally the second most influential Russian state media page.
Figure 11: Russian diplomatic pages with the most total interactions on Facebook in June 2022.
The average total interactions with Russian government pages on Facebook dropped by 2,914 in June compared to May. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs saw its interactions plummet from 207,265 to 142,188. The Japanese Embassy’s interactions fell by nearly 50 percent. Generally, other pages maintained their interaction level.
Pages with the Largest Percentage Growth in Followers
The following chart displays the Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages with the largest percentage growth in followers during the previous month.
Figure 12: Russian state media pages with the largest percentage growth in followers on Facebook in June 2022.
Fifty-two out of 60 monitored Russian state media pages lost followers in June. Life.ru was among the limited number of pages that saw growth. It added nearly 2,000 followers, which is in line with the page’s spike in interactions last month. RT Latinoamerica also gained 1,256 followers in June. That builds on the 711 it added in May.
Figure 13: Russian diplomatic and government pages with the largest percentage growth in followers on Facebook in June 2022.
Russian government Facebook pages continued to build their audiences in June, albeit at a slower pace than in May. On average, these pages saw a 0.94 percent growth rate in May and only a 0.64 percent rate in June. Russia’s Embassy in Afghanistan stood out in June, adding 673 followers. No other account saw a significant increase.
Most Commented Posts (By Total Interactions)
The following posts received the most comments on Russian state media and Russian diplomatic/government Facebook Pages during the previous month. Posts are segmented by all Russian state media pages, Russian state media Pages specifically targeting audiences in the United States, and Russian diplomatic/government Pages.
Figure 14: The top two most commented posts on Russian state media Pages in June 2022.
Life.ru had the two most interacted with posts in June. This is another data point showcasing Life.ru’s rise, along with its 1,597 new followers and huge spike in overall interactions. Both posts were about the Russian singer Yuri Shatunov.
Figure 15: The top two most commented posts on Russian state media U.S.-focused Pages in June 2022.
RT America, which has shut down, still managed to post twice in June. Neither post drew much attention, though. The top post brought in only 48 reactions.
Figure 16: The top two most commented posts on Russian diplomatic/government Pages in June 2022.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry had the top post in June. It wished everyone a “Happy Russia Day.” The post also says, “We politely asked them not to expand to the East,” and it includes images of helmets worn by forces that were defeated by Russia. The post leaves a space open for a new helmet to be added to the list. The Facebook post was so successful that RIA Novosti and Life.ru ran articles about it.
China
Twitter Metrics
This section analyzes the top accounts affiliated with and outputs from Chinese state media and diplomatic/government Twitter accounts in June 2022. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API. Engagement metrics are determined using Twitter’s public API and are up to date as of early July 2022.
In total, monitored Chinese accounts posted 93,060 tweets in June. Those Tweets were retweeted and liked, respectively, 579,791 and 2,230,826 times during the month. The number of tweets, likes, and retweets all increased compared to totals in May. In particular, the number of retweets was up over 15 percent and the number of likes increased by more than 20 percent in June.
Most Retweeted Accounts
The following charts display the most retweeted Chinese state media and Chinese diplomatic/government accounts during the past month. Favorites and total tweets are also displayed.
Figure 17: The most retweeted and liked Chinese state media (left) and diplomatic/government accounts (right) in June 2022.
The list of most influential Chinese diplomatic and state media Twitter accounts was similar to rankings in May. On the state media side, Chen Weihua, the head of China Daily in Europe and a notoriously combative representative of Chinese state media abroad, was the second most retweeted and the most liked account. In June, he sparred with both US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Thanks to his provocative style, he generated higher engagement numbers than CGTN, Beijing’s main foreign-facing state media, with less than half the number of tweets.
On the diplomatic side, the top ten remained largely consistent with the previous month, with Zhang Meifang, the consul general in Belfast, once again topping the chart. Amazingly, she received roughly two and a half more retweets and five times more likes than Xinhua, the most retweeted state media account. Yan Yiqiang, a relatively junior Russia-based diplomat, as well as Xie Yongjun, an official at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MFA) Information Department, were new entrants in the top ten. In the case of St. Petersburg-based Yan Yiqiang, his rapid rise to the top of the charts could be explained in part by the Sino-Russian convergence that has taken place in the information space since the invasion of Ukraine.
Most Followers Gained
The following charts display the state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers from June 1 to June 30, 2022.
Figure 18: The Chinese state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers in June 2022.
On the state media side, more than half of the ten fastest growing accounts belong to individual state media personalities rather than to Chinese state media outlets. The remarkable increase in followers of Chen Weihua (he gained three times more followers in June than he did in May) is yet more evidence that a confrontational posture drives engagement for Beijing’s most visible messengers.
On the diplomatic side, eight of the ten fastest growing accounts were also among the ten most influential. Particularly combative and active accounts like the Consul General in Belfast or the above-mentioned MFA Information Department’s Xie Yongjun are by far the fastest growing in relative terms. (The two accounts increased their followings by 15 and 31 percent respectively). However, the accounts that gained the most followers, by far, in absolute terms in June remained MFA spokespeople Hua Chunying and Zhao Lijian.
Most Mentioned Countries
The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in Tweets during the past month. Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America).
Figure 19: The most mentioned countries in tweets from Chinese state media (left) and diplomatic/government accounts (right) in June 2022.
The most immediately apparent change from a month ago was the prominence of Hong Kong in Tweets from both diplomatic and state media accounts. The special administrative region was mentioned nearly as often as Ukraine and Russia in Chinese state media coverage and more often than any country or territory outside of China and the United States by Chinese diplomats and government officials. This is almost certainly due to the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to the People’s Republic of China, an occasion so momentous that Xi Jinping travelled there to give a speech boasting of the “vitality” of the one country, two systems administration.
The other notable trend since May was the steady decline of interest in the war in Ukraine, especially from diplomats. Not only was Ukraine significantly less mentioned than Russia, mentions of both countries in June were down by almost 30 percent compared to mentions in May. That Taiwan and Japan were mentioned more often than either country highlights China’s renewed focus on its more immediate neighborhood.
Lastly, Pakistan remained in the top ten most mentioned countries and territories by diplomats, underlining once more the special ties that bind Beijing and Islamabad. The appearance of Afghanistan among the countries most often mentioned by Chinese diplomats’ may be explained by wolf warriors’ tendency to use the country to highlight US foreign policy’s failures, but it could also indicate a broader trend to bring the Taliban-ruled country into China’s sphere of influence.
Most Retweeted Accounts
The following charts display the accounts that have been retweeted most often by accounts monitored on the dashboard during the past month. The first chart displays the monitored accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts (for example, a diplomatic account retweeted by other diplomatic and state media accounts). The second chart displays the non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored accounts (for example, an independent media outlet or unaffiliated individual retweeted by diplomatic and state media accounts). Occasionally, accounts that should be monitored by the dashboard appear in the non-monitored retweet list, either because those accounts are new or were not previously identified. Those accounts are subsequently added to the relevant Hamilton account list.
Figure 20: Monitored Chinese media and diplomatic/government accounts most retweeted by other monitored Chinese media and diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
The list of Chinese diplomatic and state media accounts that were most retweeted by other diplomats and state media entities was largely consistent with the list of the most retweeted Chinese accounts overall. The appearance of Zhang Meifang and Zhang Heqing, the cultural consular in Pakistan, among the three most retweeted accounts can be explained by the exceptionally high volume of tweets they produced out in June—both averaged more than 100 tweets a day throughout the month—as well as by their tendency to retweet their own content.
Figure 21: Non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored Chinese media and diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
The list of the most retweeted non-monitored accounts by Hamilton 2.0’s Chinese accounts continued to reflect Beijing’s broader networking patterns on Twitter, with tourism/cultural (Sharing travel) and anonymous pro-Beijing influencers (Shao Xia) featured prominently. Japan-related accounts formed the largest contingent of non-Chinese accounts in this list for June, thanks almost exclusively to the extraordinary level of activity from Xue Jian, the Chinese consul general in Osaka.
Most Retweeted Tweets
The following charts display the Tweets made by monitored accounts that have received the most retweets during the previous month. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API.
Figure 22: The most retweeted tweets from Russian state media accounts in June 2022.
Chinese state media’s five most retweeted tweets came from two of their most vocal representatives: Chen Weihua and the ultra-nationalist tabloid Global Times. Chen Weihua’s tweet about gun violence and abortions was indicative of China’s newfound confidence in weighing in on domestic US issues to score geopolitical points at the expense of its international competitor.
Figure 23: The most retweeted tweets from Chinese diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
YouTube Metrics
This section summarizes the outputs of video content uploaded to CGTN and CGTN America’s YouTube channels. YouTube videos over 20 minutes in length were not included. In total, the dashboard collected 483 videos that garnered 1,107,924 views, 13,863 comments, and 33,647 likes (engagement metrics accurate as of early July).
Most Viewed Videos
The following chart displays the most viewed videos posted to CGTN and CGTN America’s YouTube channels over the previous month. Additional engagement metrics including likes, dislikes, and comments are also provided. Engagement metrics are accurate as of early July.
|
Title |
Outlet |
Date |
Views |
Likes |
Dislikes |
Comments |
|
China launches its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian |
CGTN |
6/16 |
123,647 |
3,149 |
|
1,247 |
|
China conducts ground-based midcourse anti-ballistic missile test |
CGTN |
6/20 |
72,266 |
1,657 |
|
506 |
|
Russian ambassador to China uses a Chinese adage to denounce Western sanctions |
CGTN |
6/17 |
54,234 |
1,898 |
|
395 |
|
China’s first 200-tonne uncrewed naval vessel completes sea trial |
CGTN |
6/9 |
53,292 |
1,301 |
|
303 |
|
Maslak’s War Diary 44: Drone footage of Azot chemical plant battle |
CGTN |
6/22 |
51,477 |
1,756 |
|
242 |
|
Russia’s Advance on Ukraine |
CGTN America |
6/28 |
50,277 |
1,467 |
|
526 |
|
Severodonetsk mayor says city fully under Russian control |
CGTN |
6/25 |
47,786 |
1,310 |
|
653 |
|
U.S.-backed smear campaign created ‘debt trap’ narrative to defame BRI |
CGTN |
6/28 |
41,693 |
2,205 |
|
513 |
|
The Point: What is the true picture of Russia’s economic state? |
CGTN |
6/1 |
34,275 |
1,138 |
|
418 |
|
BRICS leaders take virtual group photo at the 14th BRICS summit |
CGTN |
6/23 |
34,082 |
1,028 |
|
236 |
Chinese state media’s glorification of their country’s latest technological achievements took a more militaristic turn in June with three of the top five most viewed videos showcasing new weapons systems. Positive coverage of Russia also carried over from the previous month with five of the top ten videos devoted to promoting generally positive coverage of Russia. For example, The Point’s “true picture” of the Russian economy painted a rather optimistic picture, and videos about the war in Ukraine exclusively focused on Russian military successes.
Most Mentioned Countries
The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in CGTN and CGTN America videos during the past month. Country data is extracted from titles and excerpts posted to each video on YouTube, meaning that countries that are referenced in a video segment but that do not appear in the description or title will not be included.
Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America).
Figure 24: The most mentioned countries in CGTN (dark red) and CGTN America (pink) videos in June 2022.
As was the case on Twitter, the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the People’s Republic of China resulted in the city being mentioned almost as frequently as the United States by CGTN’s flagship international outlet in June (it received less coverage in CGTN America). While the war in Ukraine continued to generate a fair amount of coverage, though slightly less than what was observed in May.
Top Categories
The following chart displays the news categories covered most often in CGTN and CGTN America YouTube videos during the previous month. Classification of videos is determined by a machine learning algorithm based on a list of pre-determined news categories. Videos can have multiple classifications or no classifications if the confidence score is below a certain threshold.
Figure 25: The top news categories for CGTN (dark red) and CGTN America (pink) in June 2022.
The list of top categories in Chinese state media’s video content on YouTube in June was almost identical to the previous month. The only notable difference was the increase in civil disorder-related content, particularly on CGTN America, illustrative of the US-centric outlet’s coverage of abortion and gun-control related protests in the United States
Facebook Metrics
This section provides a summary analysis of Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook during the previous month. Data is sourced from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data analysis tool that provides insights into public content posted to Facebook. (NOTE: CrowdTangle data will be incorporated into the public dashboard in the summer of 2022.)
Most Interactions
The following chart displays the Russian state media and diplomatic/government Pages on Facebook with the most interactions (reactions, comments, and shares) during the previous month. Though sorted by interactions, the chart also displays the average number of posts per day, page followers, and interaction rates (a calculation of total interactions divided by the number of posts and the number of followers of a Page), all of which are important metrics to contextualize the results.
Figure 26: Chinese state media pages with the most total interactions on Facebook in June 2022.
The most interacted-with Chinese state media Facebook pages in June was nearly identical to findings from May. Despite their low interaction rates, China’s four main international broadcasters continued to outperform their Russian counterparts in terms of total interactions in June.
Figure 27: Chinese diplomatic pages with the most total interactions on Facebook in June 2022.
Wang Wenbin, the MFA’s least combative spokesperson, continued to generate far more engagement that any of the Chinese representations present on Facebook, largely due to the absence on the platform of many of China’s most known wolf warriors. The Chinese Consulate in Erbin continued to grow at an abnormally fast pace, gaining more than 30 percent more followers in June than it did during its already surprisingly successful performance in May.
Pages with the Largest Percentage Growth in Followers
The following chart displays the Chinese state media and diplomatic/government Pages with the largest percentage growth in followers during the previous month.
Figure 28: Chinese state media pages with the largest percentage growth in followers on Facebook in June 2022.
CGTN Frontline, one of Chinese state media’s more tabloid-esque outlets, was one of the rare entities to see rapid follower gains on both Twitter and Facebook in June. Most of the Pages that enjoyed the most growth in June, however, were affiliated with more traditional news outlets, indicative of the different audiences for Chinese media content on Twitter and Facebook.
Figure 29: Chinese diplomatic and government pages with the largest percentage growth in followers on Facebook in June 2022.
The Chinese Embassy in Sudan overtook its South African counterpart in June, likely due to its exceptionally high activity level. However, the Embassy in South Africa continued to grow at an exceptionally high rate, a trend to watch given China’s renewed emphasis on the BRICS format as the most legitimate venue to address global governance questions.
Most Commented Posts (By Total Interactions)
The following posts received the most comments on public Chinese state media and Chinese diplomatic/government Facebook Pages during the previous month. Posts are segmented by all Chinese state media pages, Chinese state media Pages specifically targeting audiences in the United States (for example, CGTN America), and Chinese diplomatic/government Pages.
Figure 30: The top two most commented posts on Chinese state media Pages in June 2022.
As was the case in May, the most popular pieces of content put out by Chinese state media in June were harmless, clickbait style videos that have the potential to go viral and capture audience share.
Figure 31: The top two most commented posts on Chinese state media U.S.-focused Pages in June 2022.
Chinese US-focused pages promoted Russia’s success in standing up to Western sanctions, notably their defeat of the ultimate symbol of US soft power: McDonald’s. They also promoted Moscow’s progress in Ukraine as the “special military operation” is about to enter its sixth month.
Figure 32: The top two most commented posts on Chinese diplomatic/government Pages in June 2022.
The top diplomatic posts illustrated China’s relentless promotion of the infrastructure projects it finances in the Global South, with both posts coming from its embassy in Bangladesh.
Iran
Twitter Metrics
This section analyzes the top accounts affiliated with and outputs from Iranian state media and diplomatic/government Twitter accounts in June 2022. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API. Engagement metrics are determined using Twitter’s public API and are up to date as of early July 2022.
In total, monitored Iranian accounts posted 21,170 tweets in June. Those Tweets were retweeted and liked, respectively, 138,415 and 759,271 times during the month.
Most Retweeted Accounts
The following charts display the most retweeted Iranian state media and Iranian diplomatic/government accounts during the past month. Favorites and total tweets are also displayed.
Figure 33: The most retweeted and liked Iranian state media (left) and diplomatic/government accounts (right) in June 2022.
The volume of tweets from monitored Iranian accounts held steady from May, but engagement ticked up substantially, with likes increasing 30 percent. Supreme Leader Khamenei drove a substantial portion of that surge, especially on his Farsi language account, which produced more tweets and generated greater engagement than in May. Other government officials, like Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian and Minister of Foreign Affairs Deputy (and leading nuclear negotiator) Ali Bagheri, also saw greater engagement in June, despite only producing 40 tweets combined. Bagheri’s most popular tweets were those criticizing and threatening Israel (euphemized as “the Zionist regime”), while Amir-Abdollahian’s were more diplomatic, and highlighted aid to Afghanistan and bilateral relations with India, Pakistan, and Columbia.
Engagement with media accounts also increased in June. NexoLatino, a brand which HispanTV uses to evade a Twitter ban, doubled its tweet output from May to June, saw a substantial increase in engagement. Press TV also saw its likes increase by over 25 percent despite actually producing fewer tweets than in May. Among these were snarky, insubstantial tweets, including Press TV’s second most liked tweet which teased, “In a bombshell revelation, US Vice President Kamala Harris announces she’s ‘the daughter of a woman, and a granddaughter of a woman’.”
Most Followers Gained
The following charts display the state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers from June 1 to June 30, 2022.
Figure 34: The Iranian state media and diplomatic/government accounts with the largest change in followers in June 2022.
Amir-Abdollahian and Bagheri both increased their followers substantially, by 7 and 14 percent respectively. Bagheri had been mostly silent on Twitter from December until May, perhaps due to the sensitivity of the Vienna talks, so this jump in followers is a response to his increasing activity.
The followership of media accounts remained very stable, with only modest growth even among small followership media accounts like @RealAfricaToday and @Nexo_Latino. The one exception was @InsightTVShow, a Press TV show. It increased its followership by 50 percent, though its followers number only 400 in total.
Most Mentioned Countries
The following chart displays the countries most mentioned in Tweets during the past month. Special territories and regions (for example, Hong Kong and the EU) are included as individual entities in the country data. The chart aggregates all mentions of a country, including alternative country names, under that country’s official name (for example, mentions of US, USA, U.S., and America are all included in tabulations for the United States of America).
Figure 35: The most mentioned countries in tweets from Iranian state media (left) and diplomatic/government accounts (right) in June 2022.
The top six countries mentioned by regime-backed media (Iran, U.S., Israel, Russia, Ukraine, and Palestine) remained unchanged from May, and reflect the usual hot topics for Iranian media, including the war in Ukraine. The top countries mentioned by government accounts reflect the earthquake in Afghanistan and diplomatic visits to Turkey and from Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Most Retweeted Accounts
The following charts display the accounts that have been retweeted most often by accounts monitored on the dashboard during the past month. The first chart displays the monitored accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts (for example, a diplomatic account retweeted by other diplomatic and state media accounts). The second chart displays the non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored accounts (for example, an independent media outlet or unaffiliated individual retweeted by diplomatic and state media accounts). Occasionally, accounts that should be monitored by the dashboard appear in the non-monitored retweet list, either because those accounts are new or were not previously identified. Those accounts are subsequently added to the relevant Hamilton account list.
Figure 36: Monitored Iranian media and diplomatic/government accounts most retweeted by other monitored Iranian media and diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
The regime-linked accounts most retweeted by other monitored accounts included the foreign ministry, the foreign minister, the supreme leader, and the official government account. Iran’s consulate in Milan, as well an account promoting tourism in Iran in Italian, both achieved a significant number of retweets as well.
Figure 37: Non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored Iranian media and diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
The non-monitored accounts most retweeted by monitored Iran-linked accounts included the small and likely state-backed media account KhameneiNews, along with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s account. Several others top accounts promote tourism to Iran.
Most Retweeted Tweets
The following charts display the Tweets made by monitored accounts that have received the most retweets during the previous month. Non-English Tweets are displayed in English using Microsoft’s Translator API.
Figure 38: The most retweeted tweets from Iranian state media accounts in June 2022.
The top three most retweeted tweets from Iran-backed state-media accounts all called attention to violence against Muslims in India, with one sarcastically comparing Indian and Israeli democracies, accompanied by images of Muslims’ homes being destroyed in each.
Figure 39: The most retweeted tweets from Iranian diplomatic/government accounts in June 2022.
All the most retweeted tweets from government accounts came from Khamenei (one from his English language account and four from his Farsi account). The top tweet was about Iran’s seizure of a Greek oil tanker in retaliation for the seizure by Greece of an Iranian tanker in May.
YouTube Metrics
The Hamilton Dashboard currently does not track any Iranian state media outlets on YouTube.
Facebook Metrics
Due to restrictions on Iranian state media and diplomatic Pages on Facebook, the few Iranian properties that exist on the platform receive negligible interactions. As a result, we did not conduct analysis of Iran’s Facebook performance.
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