The use of AI in meme campaigns tied to the Iran conflict has accelerated into a broader attempt to steer how the war is discussed online, including by targeting U.S. political leaders for ridicule and confusion, according to analysis shared with The Associated Press. The memes—often built around cartoons and familiar U.S. pop-culture references—have appeared across social platforms in English and have drawn millions of views, though analysts say it is not clear how much influence they have had on real-world perceptions.
The effort has unfolded alongside the war itself, which began Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israel strikes, and it has continued as ceasefire hopes rose this week while “many issues remained unresolved,” AP reported. In the meantime, pro-Iran accounts have circulated themes that analysts say are designed to exploit attention and emotion—portraying President Donald Trump as old and isolated, referencing speculation about his health tied to bruising on the back of his right hand, and spotlighting infighting within his MAGA base and events around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Neil Lavie-Driver, an AI researcher at the University of Cambridge, characterized the campaign as deliberately political and aimed at destabilizing the West’s resolve. “This is a propaganda war for them,” Lavie-Driver said, adding that “Their goal is to sow enough discontent with the conflict as to eventually force the West to cave in, so it is massively important to them.”
Analysts and researchers said the memes reflect an evolution in how online influence operations use AI imagery, building on earlier waves of AI content in other conflicts. AP noted that AI imagery bombarded Ukrainians after Russia’s 2022 invasion and that the phrase “AI slop” became widely used during parts of the Israel-Iran war to describe a glut of imperfect images posted online in an attempt to destroy Israel’s nuclear program.
Nancy Snow, a scholar who has written more than a dozen books on propaganda, said the campaigns are rooted in an understanding of American culture and internet trolling. “They’re using popular culture against the No. 1 pop culture country, the United States,” Snow said. In addition to the trolling style, AP reported that some of the memes have adopted recognizable production aesthetics, including a series that uses the look of the “Lego” animated movies.
One example described by AP shows an Iranian military commander rapping as Trump falls into a bullseye made of “Epstein files,” which the AP story described as the U.S. government’s investigative records on disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. AP also reported that other memes have referenced Pete Hegseth’s fiery confirmation hearing and used familiar formats and references meant to land with U.S. audiences.
Researchers said the level of polish in some of the images and videos points to capabilities that are difficult to replicate without access. Mahsa Alimardani, a director of WITNESS, told AP that the animations’ sophistication and internet access indicated ties to government offices. “If you’re able to have the bandwidth needed to generate content like that and upload it, you are officially or unofficially cooperating with the regime,” Alimardani said, pointing to severe restrictions Iran has imposed on internet access as part of a crackdown on nationwide protests earlier this year.
AP reported that Iranian state media has reposted some of the memes, including content from an account behind the “Lego”-style videos called Akhbar Enfejari, which AP said means “Explosive News.” In messaging sent to AP on the Telegram app, Akhbar Enfejari described itself as an independent group of Iranians with no connection to the government, saying it does not receive funding and that members are “just a group of friends working voluntarily — paying for our own internet, using our own laptops and computers, and doing all of this ourselves.” The group also said it is producing and uploading from within Iran to disrupt what it described as decades-long Western dominance of the airwaves.
“I’ve long dominated the media landscape and, through that power, imposed narratives on many nations,” Akhbar Enfejari said in AP’s account, adding, “But this time, something feels different. This time, we’ve disrupted the game. This time, we’re doing it better.” AP also reported that beyond the memes aimed at online audiences, Iranian government accounts have trolled the United States, including a Wednesday post from Iran’s Embassy in South Africa that said, “Say hello to the new world superpower,” alongside a picture of the Iranian flag.
Analysts said the depth of the pro-Iran memes’ understanding of American politics and culture appeared linked not only to recent AI tools but also to older, more traditional propaganda efforts—describing a decades-long program to promote narratives against the United States and Israel. “This meme war comes from institutions that are very aware what the American public is aware of and pop cultural references that can appeal to them,” Alimardani said.
On the other side, AP reported that analysts did not see evidence that the United States and Israel were engaging in an equivalent campaign aimed at Iranian audiences. AP said early in the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video using AI to make it appear he was speaking in Farsi and urged Iranians to overthrow their government. AP also said the White House has published memes aimed at a U.S. audience featuring clips from American TV shows and sports, and that the U.S. government-run Voice of America still broadcasts in Farsi though it has operated with a skeleton staff since President Donald Trump ordered it shut down.
In comments to AP, Nancy Snow said the broader environment for media and influence is changing quickly. “This world order is really changing overnight and the U.S. is not going to end up necessarily as the state that everybody listens to,” Snow said.