Anyone using social media for the last six weeks will likely have seen some rather unusual clips - Lego Movie style propaganda videos about the Iran war.
Often shared by official Iranian channels, the clips troll Donald Trump, the US and Israel over the ongoing conflict with very pro-regime messages that have been viewed millions of times.
The colourful and bombastic vignettes depict outlandish, offensive and politically pointed scenarios, including a baby President Trump “playing war” on the floor of the Oval Office, or a figure of the president looking at the Epstein files by Satan.
Now one of the accounts that creates the clips, Explosive Media, has spoken out about so-called “slopaganda”.
Named only as “Mr Explosive”, after the group Explosive Media, the man told the BBC his team generates Lego content "because it is a world language".
In previous interviews, he has called Explosive Media an “independent” outlet. But in discussion with the Top Comment podcast, he admitted the Iranian regime commissions him for videos.
Appearing in the interview lit up by the colours of the Iranian flag, Mr Explosive said it is “honourable to work for the homeland".
He rejected suggestions his videos draw on anti-semitic tropes and denied factual inaccuracies in the clips, including those relating to the US recovery of a downed fighter-jet pilot.
One of his videos depicts the pilot being captured by Iranian military forces, but the pilot was actually rescued by US special forces.
“Only 13 per cent of what Mr Trump says is based on facts,” he said in response.
Experts say the videos, while appearing to be juvenile trolling, are a new and “serious” technique used to engage modern viewers with propaganda narratives.
Technology consultant Dr Lukasz Olejnik previously told The Independent he had long predicted states would move away from traditional, “dusty” forms of diplomacy in the age of modern technology.
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“That is where attention lives. And attention is now the primary resource in any conflict, including wars,” he said.
Dr Olejnik warned against dismissing the use of pop culture in propaganda as “childish” or “unserious”.
Experts in Iranian culture Kevin L Schwartz and Olmo Gölz said we “shouldn’t be surprised” Iran is willing to make use of meme videos in its propaganda effort.
“This is on-brand for the Islamic Republic, both in terms of the medium they are using and the messages they convey,” they explained.
“At its core lies a binary worldview that casts global politics as a confrontation between the oppressed and the oppressors.
“This good-versus-evil narrative does not merely describe Iran’s position, but elevates it to be the spokesperson for all those deemed subjugated by Western and Israeli power.
“Simplistic comic book narratives of underdog heroes rising up against powerful enemies are perfect packages for this simplistic goodies-baddies messaging.”
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