Some content appeared to have been authored specifically for the website; as with libertyfrontpress.org, which focused on Iranian official positions, such as attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The top story on the site as of August 23, for example, headlined Saudi Arabia “extending the ideology of terror with the support of the United Kingdom.” It quoted an interview conducted by Iranian state outlet PressTV, without mentioning its affiliation.

Headline and opening paragraphs of the article; note the reference to “an interview conducted last month by news channel PressTV” at the bottom of the image. (Source: institutomanquehue.org)

Google searches for the exact phrasing used in the top two paragraphs only returned hits from institutomanquehue.org, indicating that this was original language.

Results of Google searches for top lines in the article. (Source: Google)

However, even here, wording from further down the article was identical with what appeared to be stock HispanTV language describing Saudi relations with Israel.

Top to bottom: Wording on Saudi-Israel relations from HispanTV in January 2018, HispanTV in July 2018, and institutomanquehue.org in August 2018. The only difference between the two HispanTV versions is the substitution of the word “relaciones” (relations) for “nexos” (ties). The second HispanTV version and the institutomanquehue.org version are identica. (Source: hispantv.com / hispantv.com / institutomanquehue.org)

Overall, institutomanquehue.org’s Spanish output appears to have been a thinly-veiled attempt to amplify Iranian government messaging in Latin America, primarily by copying HispanTV content without attribution.

The English-language output, by contrast, appeared to be largely original. It was often written in non-native English, and focused on issues from the Iranian state point of view.

As of August 23, 2018, three of its four top posts concerned a profile of a Bahraini ayatollah; a hostile view of Saudi influence in Bahrain (“Abduction, torture, and murdering more than 40 citizens during the military intervention was the heir of Saudis for Bahrain”); and an interview which claimed that “Iran’s democratic system is far more fair-minded to their voters than the American system.”

Headline of the exclusive interview. (Source: en.institutomanquehue.org)

Instituto Manquehue claimed the latter interview as an exclusive, although it did not name the interviewer. A Google search for key sentences did not return earlier uses of the language, supporting the claim.

The interviewee was identified as Robert Carter, a “London-based commentator.” Appended to the interview was a fact box stating that he worked for Shia TV outlet Ahlulbayt TV, but also contributed to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV and pro-Kremlin conspiracy site Veterans Today.

Fact box from the interview. (Source: en.institutomanquehue.org)

The questions ranged from anodyne to pro-Iranian:

Mr. Carter, what’s your take on the recent presidential election in Iran and its effect on the region? When campaigning, all of the candidates — especially Rouhani — suggested that they will remain committed to the nuclear agreement. What will happen if the other sides, especially the US, violate the deal? Compared to other countries in the Middle East, how is the establishment of democracy and free speech in Iran? How would you predict the US-Iran relations in the coming years?

The answers were anti-American, pro-Iranian, or both.

Iran has proven, to itself and the world, that diplomacy and economic expansion are what gives a country real power. Iran is, without a doubt, one of the most democratic countries in the Middle East at the moment. America is clearly putting together an anti-Iran coalition disguised as an ‘anti-terrorism’ effort. The relationship between the US & Iran is likely to remain strained as the US seems incapable of anything else but to continue its campaign of provocation. Thankfully Iran has re-elected a candidate who has proven he can handle hostile political situations with patience and calm, a skill which will become incredibly important in the foreseeable future.

Of the eight latest stories featured on the homepage, only one had a vaguely Latin American theme — footballer Lionel Messi. Far more concerned Middle Eastern geopolitics, criticizing the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

While the Institute’s English page contained more original content than the Spanish one, it was equally aligned with Iranian foreign policy.

The other core website identified by FireEye was libertyfrontpress.com, self-described as an “independent media organization” offering news “without any distortions, made by the mainstream media in favor of their contributors, in support of the oppressed and the downtrodden.”

Diagnostically, it also wrote that it aimed “to inspire action on the likes of social justice, civil liberties and human rights.”

The About page, with the relevant text highlighted. (Source: libertyfrontpress.com)

As of August 22, the libertyfrontpress.com homepage featured a range of reporting on United States, United Kingdom, and international politics, largely from a left-leaning or liberal point of view.

Again, the great majority of its content was copied verbatim from other sources; however, these were drawn from more sources than in the case of institutomanquehue.org. For example, the top story as of August 22, a profile of Colombian politician Ivan Duque, reproduced a Newsweek article; the article featured the Newsweek logo, and a link to the original.