Iran's propaganda machine trolls Trump

Updated March 28, 2026 at 05:00 AM ET

TEL AVIV, Israel — A new front has opened in the war with Iran — the virtual one. Alongside drones and missiles, Iran is now firing off something else: memes. President Trump is the regime's favorite target.

War propaganda is as old as conflict itself, but in 2026, it's moving faster, reaching further and hitting harder than ever. Since the war began, Iran's messaging apparatus has rapidly zeroed in on Trump, turning him into a central target in a sprawling, modern information campaign.

In one video, Iran depicts an animated Lego-style multiverse with Iranian soldiers avenging attacks by miniature Lego versions of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

AI-generated missiles rain down across the Middle East, sending blocky Lego figures scrambling — from Orthodox Jewish men in Israel to Saudi sheikhs in the Gulf.

Other videos lean into absurdity. A Trump-like character appears as a Teletubby in an American flag-themed outfit, sitting in the Oval Office and playing with toy fighter jets over a map of the Middle East.

Trolling Trump has become a new Iranian regime pastime. And it's not just confined to social media. Iran's vast state media apparatus has adopted the same tone in official communications — often in English.

In one example, Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari delivers a dry recitation of Trump's own trademark phrase: "Hey, Trump, you are fired. You are familiar with this sentence. Thank you for your attention to this matter."

The messaging often goes further. Zolfaghari and others have repeatedly invoked the president's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — as well as his notorious island — in pointed, backhanded references. "A reminder to the corrupted Island Man: The ground and map of the world is in our hands."

The head of Iran's National Security Council, Ali Larijani, used similar Epstein-related taunts before he was assassinated last week in a targeted Israeli airstrike.

This wave of content didn't emerge in a vacuum. It accelerated soon after the White House released a controversial media mashup toward the start of the war a month ago — blending NFL tackle highlights with footage of missile strikes in Iran.

When NPR asked the White House for comment about accusations that Trump has set the tone of global discourse, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly responded, "Why is NPR writing puff pieces about Iran's social media strategy? NPR should look inward as to why they are referring to terrorist regime propaganda as 'trolling.'"

Experts say what may look like chaotic internet culture is part of a deeper shift.

Trolling has existed in grassroots online spaces for more than 15 years, says Whitney Phillips, a media ethics professor at the University of Oregon. But with the rise of Trump, she says, it has moved to the center of global politics.

"This is the language in which Trump speaks — and this is the language in which world leaders are now speaking to him."

The risk, analysts say, is that the spectacle begins to overshadow reality. The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has sparked a widening regional conflict, with Iran retaliating against Israel and Gulf neighbors.

Iranian state media has been releasing propaganda videos and memes trolling and mocking President Trump, including this latest Lego-inspired version.

The Pentagon has ordered thousands of additional U.S. troops to the Middle East, raising the prospect of a ground phase and further escalation. The fighting is rattling global markets, driving up energy prices and disrupting supply chains worldwide.

Emerson Brooking of the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab says war itself is increasingly being absorbed into the attention economy. "It's like this commodification of war — becoming part of the attention economy — which is a very strange and discomfiting experience so many of us are going through right now."

Brooking says Iranian propaganda is not new, but its focus on trolling Trump is allowing it to reach American audiences in ways it hasn't before. "Americans are not used to seeing messages from a country the U.S. is bombing that are directed at them. This is quite new," he said.

Iran has long been a pioneer in global propaganda, with early adoption of social media dating back decades. But its recent AI-generated output appears to prioritize volume over precision, with waves of content that feel rapidly produced and designed for maximum spread — like its latest Lego video set to AI-generated rap music. The video ends on a stark black screen with white text: "Your grave mistake of attacking us will be judged by history — and it won't be in your favor."

And then, a final line: "Thank you for your attention to this matter. The People of Iran."

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