At first glance, it looks like a scene from the Lego movie, but it’s more vivid and faster-paced.
But these viral AI videos, inspired by the instantly recognizable Lego aesthetic and featuring dying children, fighter jets, and US President Donald Trump, are actually pro-Iranian propaganda.
In our new BBC podcast Top Comments, we speak to representatives from Explosive Media, one of the key accounts generating these clips. He wanted us to call him Mr. Explosive.
Although he is a savvy social media operator, he initially denied working for the Iranian government. In a previous interview, the outlet said it was “completely independent.” However, upon further questioning, Mr. Explosive acknowledged that the administration was a “customer,” something he had never publicly acknowledged before.
The overarching message of these videos is that Iran is resisting what it sees as its all-powerful global oppressor: the United States.
The clips are flashy and not at all subtle, but that doesn’t affect how actively people are sharing and commenting.
One of the videos shows Donald Trump falling into a pile of “Epstein Files” documents as rap lyrics announce that “secrets are leaking, pressure is mounting.”
In another photo, George Floyd can be seen under the boot of a police officer as Iran hears, “We stand here for everyone your system has ever wronged.”
“Slopaganda,” a term coined in an academic paper last year as a play on “AI slop,” is too weak a term to describe how powerful this “highly sophisticated” content is, says propaganda guru Dr. Emma Bryant.
AI-generated propaganda clips are estimated to have been viewed hundreds of millions of times during the war.
