From Christ to lego Trump: How Iran’s waging an AI ‘slopaganda’ war against US

While the Iran-Israel war, backed by the US through military support and diplomatic interventions, plays out on the ground, Tehran is waging a parallel online battle with the West. The otherwise conservative nation and its supporters have unleashed a meme slugfest, often countering White House videos that blend real American strikes with clips from popular films, television series, video games and anime. Dubbed ‘slopaganda’, this AI-powered content is now spilling deep into global political communication.

For instance, last week US President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated picture on Truth Social comparing himself to Jesus, showing him in flowing robes placing a glowing hand on a sick man in a biblical-style scene. Iran was quick to hit back. On April 15, the Iranian embassy in Tajikistan posted an AI-generated clip of the same image, where an angry Jesus Christ is seen attacking Trump. Trump also faced criticism from conservatives and Christian activists for the post, with some flagging it as evidence of a God-like complex. He later removed the post from Truth Social. The Embassy of Iran in South Africa also reposted Trump’s image with a caption referencing Jeffrey Epstein, suggesting that the sick man being “healed” by Trump was actually Epstein, mocking the president’s past associations.

Iran’s strategy hinges on one key factor: Trump is inherently memeable. His political style, dramatic, personalised and often exaggerated, translates easily into visual satire. Iranian content leans into this, repeatedly turning him into a character rather than a leader.

Even Iranian military officer and official spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari used Trump-like phrasing in delivering warnings to the US, including lines such as “You’re fired” and “You are familiar with this sentence. Thank you for your attention to this matter”, echoing his typical Truth Social sign-off style.

The now-viral Lego-style AI videos posted by a pro-Iranian group, Explosive Media, offer a sharp example of how the digital front of this conflict is being fought for perception management. The content is released at key turning points in the war.

The non-deadline
When Trump’s repeated deadlines to Iran and his warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” were followed by an unexpectedly announced ceasefire on April 8, AI-generated clips began circulating showing miniature versions of him surrendering, panicking, or being outmanoeuvred. The tone is playful, but the underlying message is clear: the US is not in control of the narrative.

One caption read: “Trump Surrendered. IRAN WON. TACO will always remain TACO. TACO means Trump Always Chickens Out.” The “TACO” reference appears repeatedly across other videos as well. One clip shows a sobbing US president eating a taco while temporary ceasefire terms lie beside him, a visual shorthand for reversal and humiliation. In another, a Lego Trump is shown holding a card that reads “Victory” on the front and “I am a loser” on the back.

The videos go further than satire. Some explicitly frame Iran’s response as revenge not only for US military actions, but also for a wider set of grievances, including Palestine, Afghanistan, the Epstein scandal, and references to figures such as Rachel Corrie and Malcolm X. Clips supporting Lebanon have also circulated, tying multiple regional conflicts into a broader moral narrative of resistance.

What makes this ecosystem more effective than earlier propaganda cycles is the use of AI itself. It has allowed pro-Iran groups to quickly overcome what was once a structural disadvantage: language and production barriers. Content that earlier required translation teams, editors, and broadcasters can now be generated, subtitled and distributed almost instantly. The fact that several Instagram and YouTube accounts associated with the channel were taken down indicates both reach and impact, and the level of disruption it has caused in Western information spaces.

For instance, an English rap track titled “Loser 2” blends meme culture with aggressive lyrical propaganda. Short excerpts capture its tone:

“Yeah yeah keep that same energy you ain’t nothing but a fraud…”
“Look in the mirror tell me what you see, big ego crushed, fake reality…”
“You’re fired, played your last Trump card, no more aces, boy you’re discarded…”

The Hormuz blockade
Each strike and each escalation is followed almost instantly by a wave of digital content attempting to frame what has just happened. Who struck first, who is winning, who looks stronger—these questions are no longer answered only through official briefings, but through viral visuals and satire.

Take US naval deployments in the Gulf. While Washington framed them as security operations, Iranian diplomatic accounts reframed them as piracy, posting visuals portraying Trump as a stranded or desperate “pirate of the Persian Gulf”.

The Iranian consulate in Hyderabad also posted that “The Strait of Hormuz isn't social media. If someone blocks you, you can't just block them back.”

In another meme, the Iran Embassy in South Africa mocked Trump’s remarks suggesting that the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by “me and Ayatollah”, posting an image of a car driving seat with a toy steering wheel attached to the right side of the actual steering system.

The Embassy of Iran in South Africa, meanwhile, has also been pushing content challenging Israel’s repeated warnings that Iran is “just two weeks away” from acquiring a nuclear weapon. One meme shows Abraham Lincoln reading the claim as breaking news, while another depicts Benjamin Netanyahu repeating similar lines on loop across decades, from 1996 to 2100, suggesting rhetorical repetition rather than escalation.

In another video, Trump is shown singing over 80s-style music in a deliberately absurd remix blending political messaging with internet parody culture. The lyrics twist elements of his rhetoric and military posturing into a satirical pop track built for viral circulation. Among the lines circulating in clipped form are: “I will never give you up” and “look out, look out, surrender is beneath me”, turning escalation and blockade language into a mock anthem of defiance and confusion.

Chaos of disinformation
Similarly, after US claims of successful strikes, pro-Iran networks have circulated AI-generated clips exaggerating American losses or depicting Iranian retaliation. These are not always factual, but they are designed to travel fast and shape first impressions.

Both sides have engaged in disinformation tactics. Iranian media has broadcast manipulated images of alleged victories, prompting fact-checking by outlets. One widely circulated example was the false claim by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency that Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed in an Iranian strike. The rumour spread rapidly across X and Telegram before Netanyahu himself publicly debunked it with video of him in a coffee shop. Similarly, the White House also faced backlash over a video that mixed real footage with video game clips. On March 6, the White House account posted a video that opened with a well-known meme from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, featuring the line “Ah shit, here we go again.” The clip then cut to footage of what appeared to be a US strike on a truck in Iran, with the word “wasted” flashing across the screen, mimicking the in-game graphic shown when a character dies.

In that sense, this meme war is not just running parallel to the battlefield, it is actively shaping how that battlefield is understood.