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The Observers - Propaganda war: The Gen Z team behind Iran’s hit anti-Trump videos

France24 · · 467 words · By The FRANCE
Iran-US Relations Gen Z Digital Culture Information warfare
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/the-observers/20260507-propaganda-war-gen-z…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

7 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

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info Single Source 2
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“Satirical Lego animations depicting US President Donald Trump as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s puppet while casting Iran as the defender of the oppressed mark the latest propaganda coup for the Iranian regime in its war with the US.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (The New Yorker, RT, and others) confirm the existence of pro-Iran Lego-themed animations depicting Trump and Netanyahu in a puppet-like or collaborative manner, often framing Iran as a defender or victor in a PR war.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been engaged in a war with Iran and its regional allies. The conflict began when the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, targeting mili…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 2025, the second Donald Trump administration of the United States has sought to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark (itself in the European Union), triggering an ongoing internat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_crisis
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Slopaganda is a portmanteau of "AI slop" and "propaganda", referring to AI-generated content designed to manipulate beliefs, emotions, and political decision-making at scale. The term is credited to M…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slopaganda
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“From being portrayed as Benjamin Netanyahu’s puppet to being shown entangled in the Epstein affair, Donald Trump has become the star of a series of satirical Lego animations.”
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Independent sources from The Independent and RT specifically mention Lego animations featuring Donald Trump in the context of both Benjamin Netanyahu and the Jeffrey Epstein files scandal.
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web search NEUTRAL — Iranian state media has released a striking Lego-themed animation that depicts U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk9TRJ3M7bA
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web search NEUTRAL — An Epstein-figure in an orange prison jumpsuit was pictured in the file next to a grey-haired Lego character. Iran has trolled President Donald Trump by releasing an AI-generated propaganda video that…
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic…
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web search NEUTRAL — The animation, dubbed ‘Narrative of Victory,’ was widely circulated online on Sunday. It opens with a cartoonish figure of US President Donald Trump – accompanied by the Devil – reading the Jeffrey Ep…
https://www.rt.com/news/634174-iran-us-lego-video-pr-war/
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“Posted by Iranian officials and embassies, these videos have been a worldwide hit”
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Wired and RT both report that Iranian state media and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have shared and circulated these Lego-style videos.
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web search NEUTRAL — Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpLEtz3H0jSfEneSdf1YKnw/joinIran-US War:Iran has released another AI‑generated Lego...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G9DNx7xIIc
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web search NEUTRAL — This is not the first time Iranian media have used Lego-style animations in their messaging. In June 2025, during the 12-day war with Israel and the US, a similar video depicted Tehran’s response to s…
https://www.rt.com/news/634174-iran-us-lego-video-pr-war/
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web search NEUTRAL — Iran has previously used Lego-style videos in war propaganda. Back in 2024, according to Ayad, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shared links to a Lego video, and during the Twelve-Day War in 2025…
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-the-pro-iran-meme-machine…
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“The group that first created the videos calls itself Explosive Media.”
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Multiple sources, including The Verge and other reports, explicitly identify the group creating these videos as 'Explosive Media'.
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web search NEUTRAL — The collective, known as Explosive Media, was finalizing their latest AI-generated, Lego-themed video featuring a Trump mini-figure collaborating with leaders from Gulf states, Iranian officials poise…
https://altagic.com/blog/the-pro-iran-meme-factory-mocking-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — Explosive Media claims it sees maintaining its independence and being relatable to Gen Z (their peers) as important elements to achieving their larger goals. And the representative stressed that using…
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/909948/e…
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web search NEUTRAL — A group called Explosive Media, which describes itself as a "Iranian Lego-style animation team" posted its latest video about the incident showing a Lego Trump with a bandaged hand raging down the pho…
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/04/legos-trolling-…
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““We’re a group of friends. Most of us are students – or recently graduated. We’re between 19 and 25.”
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While 'Explosive Media' is confirmed as the group, the specific demographic details (students/graduates aged 19-25) are not explicitly corroborated across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence, though The Verge mentions they aim to be relatable to Gen Z peers.
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web search NEUTRAL — Explosive Media. 16K Members and 16K Stars!. You know what that means? Explosive Media. We announce that –for the first time in recent decades– the walls of censorship have completely collapsed. The s…
https://t.me/s/explosivemedia
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web search NEUTRAL — YouTube bans pro-Iran 'Explosive Media' AI animation channel. Explosive Media had initially been suspended on March 27, with US media outlets reporting on Wednesday that the group's account had been r…
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-893392
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web search NEUTRAL — Explosive Media A screenshot from an AI-generated pro-Iran propaganda video showing an Iranian soldier chasing a US soldier Explosive Media. At first glance they look like they could be scenes out of …
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd8jrd1vnyo
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“But when it comes to the final track – the singing voice – that part is generated using AI.”
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The provided evidence mentions AI-generated videos and general AI singing tools, but there is no specific confirmation in the provided text that Explosive Media explicitly uses AI for the 'singing voice' track specifically.
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web search NEUTRAL — Soundverse AI Singing Voice Generator allows you to create stunning vocal tracks in seconds. Whether you’re a music producer, songwriter, or content creator, this tool turns your text into professiona…
https://www.soundverse.ai/ai-singing-voice-generator
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web search NEUTRAL — Transform still photos into singing, fun lip-sync videos using our AI Singing Photo Generator. Upload any image, pick a song or voice, and let our Singing Photo AI animates photos to sing your favorit…
https://singify.fineshare.com/ai-singing-photo-generator
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web search NEUTRAL — Explosive Media A screenshot from an AI-generated pro-Iran propaganda video showing an Iranian soldier chasing a US soldier Explosive Media. At first glance they look like they could be scenes out of …
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd8jrd1vnyo
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“The videos portray Iran as acting in self-defence and as the defender of people oppressed by the US around the world.”
CORROBORATED
BBC and other sources describe the videos as pro-Iran propaganda that portrays the US as the aggressor and Iran as a defender or acting in vengeance/self-defense.
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web search NEUTRAL — 'Vengeance for all': How Iran's Lego videos won narrative war against Trump The viral videos by Iranian creators, say analysts, are high-quality though cheap, and strike at fissures in US ...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/vengeance-for-all-h…
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web search NEUTRAL — A.I.-generated propaganda against the U.S.'s war in Iran, done in the style of Lego movies, has become inescapable online. Kyle Chayka tracked down the team making the videos.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-team-b…
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web search NEUTRAL — But these viral AI videos inspired by the instantly recognisable Lego aesthetic feature dying children, fighter jets and US President Donald Trump - and are in fact pro-Iran propaganda.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd8jrd1vnyo
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.