Pro-Iran AI Memes Target Trump and U.S. to Shape War Narrative

Pro-Iran groups have embraced artificial intelligence to flood social media with slick, English-language memes aimed at shaping the narrative around the U.S.-Israel conflict and fostering opposition to American policies. Analysts tracking these memes say they are part of a coordinated propaganda war, likely tied to the Iranian government, designed to maximize impact despite Tehran’s limited resources.

Neil Lavie-Driver, an AI researcher at the University of Cambridge, describes the campaign as a “propaganda war” intended to “sow enough discontent with the conflict as to eventually force the West to cave in.” These memes are not random internet noise; they are carefully crafted messages that leverage deep knowledge of American culture and political infighting, particularly targeting Donald Trump and his MAGA base.

The memes portray Trump as outdated, isolated, and physically frail, referencing specific incidents like bruising on his hand and internal GOP conflicts. One striking series uses the style of Lego movies to depict an Iranian military commander rapping about turning U.S. bases into “beds of stone,” with Trump falling into a bullseye made from “Epstein files”—a nod to the infamous sex offender’s government investigations.

Experts like Mahsa Alimardani of human-rights group WITNESS argue the sophistication and internet access required to produce and disseminate these memes strongly suggest official or semi-official cooperation with the Iranian regime. This is notable given Iran’s harsh internet restrictions imposed during recent nationwide protests.

State media have amplified some of these memes, reposting content from accounts like Akhbar Enfejari (“Explosive News”), which claims to be an independent group but whose operations and resources raise questions about government ties. The group insists it is volunteer-run and aims to disrupt Western media dominance by flooding the digital space with counter-narratives.

The Iranian government itself has also engaged in trolling, with posts like one from Iran’s Embassy in South Africa declaring Iran the “new world superpower.” Both Iran and the U.S. claimed victory after a recent ceasefire, but underlying tensions and propaganda battles continue.

This meme war is the product of decades of Iranian government efforts to influence perceptions abroad, blending old-school propaganda with cutting-edge AI tools. “These institutions are very aware of what the American public knows and the pop culture references that appeal to them,” Alimardani notes.

In contrast, the U.S. and Israel have not matched this kind of AI-powered meme warfare. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released an AI-manipulated video urging Iranians to overthrow their government, and the White House circulates memes aimed at domestic audiences, but neither has launched a comparable campaign targeting foreign publics with AI-driven cultural trolling.

The U.S. government’s Voice of America still broadcasts in Farsi, though with reduced capacity since Trump’s cuts. As propaganda battles escalate online, experts warn this shift signals a broader realignment in global information warfare, with Iran exploiting new digital tools to challenge U.S. influence and reshape the world order.