AI infiltrates the Iran war: Memes, puns and fake images

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) on social media has reached new heights. Commonly known as slopaganda — a term combining sloppy and propaganda — it refers to low‑cost audiovisual content that is easy to share across digital platforms. In recent months, amid rising tensions over the conflict in the Middle East, Iran has increasingly turned to posting satirical images and videos that target U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump himself has also made AI a recurring tool during his second term. Since returning to the White House, he has posted AI‑generated images on his social network, Truth Social, in which he appears extravagantly glorified. Examples include the image he shared on Sunday showing him dressed as Jesus healing a sick person after his clash with Pope Leo XIV, or the picture depicting him planting a U.S. flag in Greenland after threatening to take over the island.

But in recent months, as tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated, the side taking the greatest advantage of this technology has been the Islamic Republic. The arrival of AI has allowed the regime and its supporters to spread their propaganda beyond Iran’s borders and capture the attention of a broader and previously unreachable audience: the West. Slopaganda videos shared by Iranian embassies around the world — caricaturing Trump and his administration — have been viewed hundreds of millions of times since the start of the war in the Middle East.

Several experts, however, warn that the growing popularity of this type of content risks trivializing the consequences of a conflict that has already caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Christ

President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ on Sunday. The image, which appeared shortly after the Republican president clashed with Pope Leo XIV, was removed the following day after the president received a wave of criticism from Catholic, Evangelical, and Protestant groups, as well as other conservative organizations aligned with him.

In the 24 hours between those two moments, Iran took advantage of the post — and the criticism of Trump — to turn it into its latest meme: an AI‑generated video in which Jesus approaches the president from behind, strikes him, and Trump falls into what resembles hell.

The post, which has already garnered 46 million likes, has been shared five million times — including by the Iranian Embassy in Tajikistan.

LEGO

Another set of videos shared by the Islamic Republic in recent days — and now widely viral — comes from Explosive Media, a company known for its AI‑generated content and LEGO‑style aesthetic.

In an interview with the BBC, a company representative, who asked interviewers to refer to him as “Mr. Explosive,” admitted that the video was created at the request of the Iranian government, one of its “clients.” He said that the message behind the generated content was that Iran is resisting “an almighty global oppressor,” meaning the United States.

Explosive Media has released numerous videos in its signature style to denounce the war in the Middle East. On several occasions, the Iranian Embassy in South Africa has shared the content on its official Twitter account.

‘Blockade’

The artist Snicklink has also joined the slopaganda trend in his media campaign against the U.S. president. In a video titled Blockade, shared by the artist himself, Trump appears in a colorful suit with a 1980s-style haircut, playing a synthesizer, while singing about the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The caption reads: “If you block me, I block you.”

The first comment on the post, left by Snicklink himself, links to his online store’s website, where merchandise featuring images from the video is sold. “Get your fresh Blockade merch HERE,” he wrote.

The video was shared by the Iranian Embassy in South Africa. In a subsequent post, responding to Snicklink, it again praised the clip: “You did great. Your logo was in the video. So we like every one [sic] admire your art and sacrifice. Well done.”

Pirates of Ormuz

The Iranian Embassy in Zimbabwe has also posted what resembles a Pirates of the Caribbean–style movie poster, with Trump at the center of the image dressed as the iconic Captain Jack Sparrow.

In this case, the joke goes beyond the image itself and extends into the mock credits of the imaginary film. “Pedoflix presents,” “In Treason We Trust,” and “Exposed by Epstein and Weinerstein” are included in the mock poster, alluding to the president’s friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Campaign 2028

Some of the posts even include references to the next U.S. presidential elections, scheduled for 2028, in which Vice President J. D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are emerging as favorites to lead the Republican Party.

“Are you ready folks? Trump $20.28 per gallon [of oil],” reads a post shared by the Iranian Embassy in Thailand.

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