In the
contemporary age of AI, satirical political propaganda has become both highly
entertaining and strikingly effective.
As
discussed in Part 1, the use of satire, parody, and comical or even grotesque
imagery to shape political narratives and influence public opinion has a long history,
evident during the World Wars and the Cold War. Today, however, AI-generated digital
memes have transformed the gruesome realities of war, aggression, political
power, and civilian death into parodic spectacles. While these productions may
be entertaining, they are deeply concerning in their ability to normalize
military aggression and trivialize violence.
Dada’s
Legacy in Influencing Digital Art
Scholars
have frequently associated digital memes—used to express emotions, opinions,
and political views—with Dadaist art. The copy-and-paste ethos of memes recalls
Dada’s collage techniques and their mass reproduction share similarities with Pop
Art, which succeeded Dadaism. Interestingly, once a meme circulates online, it
can be reshared in new contexts, acquiring meanings unintended by the original
creator or poster. Memes can also be “remixed”, altering the original message, which
means that the participatory aspect of their creation can cause disconnection
and disruption, an effect that, to some extent, parallels Dada’s destabilizing
strategies. While memes do not always have political intentions, their humor,
emotional charge, nonsensicality, and provocative tendencies clearly carry a
Dadaist resonance.
 |
| Internet Meme |
Dada’s
legacy can be traced through its lineage in countercultures that continue to
shape forms of digital art and media expressing critical views of governments
and the establishment. In today’s digital sphere, absurdity, provocation, and
satirical humor have become powerful tools of political propaganda, deployed not
only by independent groups but also by governments and politicians. This
reveals how Dada strategies have been adapted—whether consciously or not—to
serve both resistance and state-sponsored propaganda.
Slopaganda
as Political Strategy
With
the ongoing US-Iran war, there has been a surge of war propaganda memes circulating
online, many originating from Iran through outlets such as Explosive Media and
BNN. Satirical AI-animated short videos are deployed to affirm Iranian strength
and portray the nation as outwitting and overpowering the US. These memes frequently
feature grotesque caricatures of Donald Trump—depicting him crying, sweating
excessively, and being humiliated—to ridicule his weakness and masculinity. In
this way, these short videos serve as psychological tools to manipulate emotion
and public opinion. While this function can be traced back to Cold War propaganda
practices, the combination of AI-driven absurdity, digital virality, and
participatory remix culture makes contemporary propaganda memes distinctive in their
destabilizing and polarizing effect.
"These short videos serve as psychological tools to manipulate emotion and public opinion.
Trump himself
has circulated similar AI-animated short videos, including those depicting the
rebuilding of Gaza, as a psychological display of his authority to determine
Gaza’s fate. Trump has also employed parody-style videos aimed at his domestic
opponents. In this context, it appears that the Iranian outlets deliberately
use the same strategy of intimidation, giving Trump—as the saying goes—"a
taste of his own medicine” by producing AI-animated short videos parodying the
US. These videos are an attempt to shift the dominant narrative, moving Iran’s
to the center of the digital discourse.
 |
| Screenshot of Iranian Lego-style slopaganda (APT, YouTube, 2026) |
The
memes, in the form of AI-animated short videos have been coined “slopaganda”: a
low-quality AI-generated content (“slop”) serving as propaganda; broadly defined
as material intended to manipulate perceptions, beliefs, and emotions in order to
shape political views. They are released both by independent creators and by sources
linked to governments and they quickly spread online because of their
effectiveness in communicating clear, unsubtle messages directly to internet
users. The visualizations are deliberately crude; often accompanied by
provocative song lyrics. This crudeness is exemplified in animations such as of
Trump defecating before a crowd of protesters or portraying his political
opponents as monkeys.
Explosive
Media has effectively harnessed slopaganda as a political tool. This Iranian Gen
Z-led company has mastered the exploitation of pop culture by incorporating
elements instantly recognizable to global audiences, particularly Americans,
such as Lego-style animations and hip-hop music. By combining crude visualization
with lyrics that deliver the message plain and simple in a mocking manner,
Explosive Media achieves virality while influencing internet users’ perceptions
of the war and the contested “truth.”
Hegemonic
Masculinity and Resistance
The
ridicule and absurdity in Iran’s satirical slopagandas are deployed to delegitimize
the authority of the enemy, often through spectacles of military aggression and
superiority that mock US military weakness, failed campaigns, in addition to
leaders’ manhood and masculinity. In fact, the visualization of violence has led
to the removal of some of these videos from digital platforms. These videos
exemplify how war slopagandas embody what sociologist R.W. Connell termed
hegemonic masculinity: a dominant and idealized form of masculinity that
emphasizes strength, aggression, and emotional restraint, perpetuated through
cultural, media, and state institutions rather than direct force.
"Like Dadaism, independent slopaganda operates as a form of political resistance ...
Although not denying that the Iranian government is among their clients, Explosive Media maintains that they are independent. Meanwhile, another outlet that also releases Lego-style animations under the account BNN, asserts that they do not represent any government, organization, or political party, and see their work as exercises of free speech—as creative and political expression.
Explosive Media and BNN’s videos exemplify how slopaganda can function not merely as propaganda but as defiance against the ways mainstream media and powerful states construct dominant narratives. Like Dadaism, independent slopaganda operates as a form of political resistance; in Iran’s case, it represents resistance to Western imperialism.
 |
| BBC.com (2026) |
Unfortunately, the humor in political and war slopagandas produced by independent entities today often reinforces rather than challenges the legitimization of bigotry, violence, and military aggression by governments. In other words, unlike Dadaism, slopaganda largely fails to serve as a countercultural force. On the contrary, although it can operate as a form of political resistance, it does not fundamentally delegitimize the values that continue to obstruct democracy and world peace. In fact, slopaganda is increasingly deployed as a digital weapon of propaganda by governments themselves, legitimizing power and repression.
Sources:
Alfano, Mark and Michał Klincewicz (2026)
‘Slopaganda Wars: How (and Why) the US and Iran Are Flooding the Zone with
Viral AI‑Generated Noise.’
The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/slopaganda-wars-how-and-why-the-us-and-iran-are-flooding-the-zone-with-viral-ai-generated-noise-280024
[Accessed 26 April 2026].
Buecking, Karen (2023) ‘Writing a Manifesto for
Fun and Profit: What Dada Can Teach Us About Meme Culture.’ Retrospect
Journal.
https://retrospectjournal.com/2023/11/19/writing-a-manifesto-for-fun-and-profit-what-dada-can-teach-us-about-meme-culture/
[Accessed 30 March 2026].
CNN News 18 and Crux (2026) Viral | As
Iran's Lego-style War Videos Go Viral, Meet the Team Behind Them | N18G.
YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXGRw25ilH4 [Accessed 26 April
2026].
No comments:
Post a Comment