Iran’s Bold Media Tactics: How ‘Slopaganda’ is Undermining Trump’s Reputation
Iran’s Bold Media Tactics: How ‘Slopaganda’ is Undermining Trump’s Reputation
Artificial intelligence has firmly established a presence on the battlefield, bringing with it a strange mix of the bizarre and trivial. Enter the age of ‘slopaganda,’ a clever fusion of ‘sloppy’ and ‘propaganda,’ where AI-generated content is utilized as a potent tool for digital diversion on a massive scale. In the backdrop of escalating tensions and ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Iran has surprisingly outpaced the United States in the digital arena.
They have launched a sophisticated campaign featuring AI-crafted satirical images and videos aimed directly at former President Donald Trump. This unrelenting wave of digital mockery has become an unexpected source of admiration among American social media influencers. Spencer Hakimian, the founder of Tolou Capital Management, captured the astonishment felt by many, tweeting, “Once this conflict concludes, we should consider inviting the Iranian propaganda team to Los Angeles to give us a masterclass.” Writer Jeet Heer mirrored this view, questioning pointedly on social media why “the only people excelling at AI seem to be the Iranians.” It turns out that when it comes to world-class internet trolling, Iran’s diplomatic missions are giving keyboard warriors a serious run for their money to roast America’s leadership.
There are a few jaw-dropping examples of Iran’s ‘slopaganda.’ The Iranian Embassy in Tajikistan’s ‘Divine Retribution’ is one. A voice is heard saying ‘Your reckoning has come’ as Jesus approaches the President before another voice yells ‘What is this?’ The outrageous clip instantly racked up over 23 million views. The Iranian Embassy in Thailand also made its own take on the panic at the pump, capitalizing on fears of soaring energy costs amid the blockade.
They posted a campaign poster-type image reading: ‘Trump $20.28 per gallon. Are you ready folks?’ And it doesn’t stop there. The Iranian Embassy in South Africa posted its own memes.
In one video post, they write: ‘And today’s popular music: ‘blockade’ by Trump.’ The video shows a retro Trump with a mullet, singing and playing a song on the piano about the Strait of Hormuz. As part of the lyrics, the AI-Trump sings: ‘The Strait of Hormuz must be shut.’ It’s unclear if there’s a centralized effort in Tehran producing the memes or if diplomats in different corners of the world are deploying them on their own. In yet another example, a pro-Iranian AI studio, teaming up with ‘Explosive Media’ – put out a YouTube video showing LEGO-style videos designed to humiliate the US war effort.
Some show Trump with ripped pants on fire holding a sign in front of a crowd that says ‘Victory’ but from the back the sign says: ‘I am a loser.’ Others show him crying and sweating in fear while binge-eating in his bedroom – looking at a piece of paper that says ‘Terms of ceasefire.’ The video has since been banned by the video platform. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the removal was a move to suppress ‘the truth’ about the war. ‘In a land that proudly hosts Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, and The Walt Disney Company, an independent animated YouTube channel – which had organically grown by depicting U.S.
aggression & warmongering, and garnered millions of viewers – was abruptly shut down!! Why?!’ he posted on X in response. High-ranking officials in Tehran are also getting in on the act, completely bypassing traditional diplomatic channels to speak directly, and mockingly, to Western publics.
Iranian hardliner Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has launched his own English-language PR offensive on X, hoping to manipulate US public opinion and sow panic at the pumps. ‘Enjoy the current pump figures,’ Ghalibaf taunted in a recent post. ‘With the so-called ‘blockade.’ Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.’ To twist the knife, he attached a screenshot of a Google Maps search showing gas stations literally blocks away from the White House.
As Al Jazeera English pointed out, Ghalibaf has essentially repositioned himself. Rather than issuing predictable military threats or purely political statements, he has morphed into a wartime economic communicator, wielding inflation as a weapon against a weary western public. However, a mystery remains: there is fierce online debate over whether the X account actually belongs to the hardliner himself or is merely another phantom created by Tehran’s master propagandists.
Whether the accounts are real or run by a shadowy team of expert trolls, one thing is glaringly obvious: weapons do not simply exist on the battlefield. It’s left the Economist to lament, ‘a joyless theocracy produces wittier videos than the Trump administration.’ The US isn’t deploying anything back to retaliate. We reached out to the White House for comment.
They did not immediately respond.