Maia Scott is a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab. Her work focuses on disinformation, covert information operations, and open source intelligence collection. Her most recent publication, in collaboration with colleagues Alberto Fittarelli and Marcus Michaelsen, uncovered a coordinated AI campaign attempting to incite Iranians to revolt against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Publications
Tall Tales
How Chinese Actors Use Impersonation and Stolen Narratives to Perpetuate Digital Transnational Repression
In collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), we identified two distinct actors aligned with the People’s Republic of China that have been targeting and impersonating journalists and civil society. Our findings provide insight into the Chinese government’s practice of digital transnational repression and its shift to a system of state-sponsored attacks carried out by private contractors.
Not Safe for Politics
Cellebrite Used on Kenyan Activist and Politician Boniface Mwangi
Following the widely-condemned arrest in July 2025 of prominent Kenyan opposition voice Boniface Mwangi, the Citizen Lab analyzed artefacts from devices seized during the arrest. We found that Cellebrite’s forensic extraction tools were used on his Samsung phone while it was in police custody. This case adds to the concerning pattern of the misuse of Cellebrite technology by government clients.
We Say You Want a Revolution
PRISONBREAK – An AI-Enabled Influence Operation Aimed at Overthrowing the Iranian Regime
The control and strategic manipulation of information has long played a role in the geopolitical and ideological competition between the Islamic Republic of Iran and its political adversaries, including Israel. Prior Citizen Lab research has uncovered Iranian disinformation efforts, however, in this investigation we focus on the “other side” of the geopolitical competition. We analyzed an influence operation we assess as most likely undertaken by an entity of the Israeli government or a private subcontractor working closely with it.
