Iranian X Accounts Rack Up 900 Million Views With AI Trolling During War
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 25
Iranian X Accounts Rack Up 900 Million Views With AI Trolling During War
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 25
Official Iranian accounts on X drew about 900 million views, 22 million likes and 76 million shares in the first 50 days of the Iran war, driven by AI-generated satirical posts mocking the United States.
Those campaigns used culturally fluent memes and videos — including Lego-style clips and references to Marvel and Forrest Gump — to ridicule Washington or cast Iran more sympathetically.
The tactic differs from classic deepfake disinformation because deception is not the main aim; the goal is reach, ridicule and resonance, even as fake war imagery also spread online.
The broader concern is that more capable rivals, especially China, could combine sentiment-tracking tools with AI content generation to run more sophisticated influence operations against U.S. audiences.
When AI turns war into shareable memes, what is the long-term psychological impact on a global audience?
How can nations counter viral, AI-driven satirical propaganda without resorting to censorship?
With AI now weaponizing pop culture, what is the next frontier for defending against digital influence campaigns?