this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/46797842

May 2, 2026

The creative team behind many of the viral sensations featuring Lego characters and storytelling critical of the war launched by US-Israeli forces against Iran two months ago, posted a new video on Saturday that seeks to forge solidarity between everyday Iranians and Americans suffering from the conflict, and who desperately want to see the fighting brought to an end.

“The Iranian AI Lego team has another video out,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a DC think tank focused on US foreign policy. “The music, lyrics, and imagery are all designed to appeal to disillusioned Americans.”

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[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 72 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Iran being smart enough to do the thing the US admin is too stupid to: win the hearts and minds of your adversary's civilian populace.

[–] WaxRhetorical@lemmy.world 28 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Historians are going to have plenty of work to do describing how the US threw away all of their soft power over the course of some decades. Absolutely wild to see.

[–] Aqarius@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

Oh, it'll be easy: "Once their opponent dissolved, a portion of the US elite convinced themselves that 'history is over' and, being unopposed, they no longer needed to cultivate soft power and can simply seize whatbthey want outright."

[–] garretble@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

It only took one year to wreck most of the soft power, too! And they say government isn't efficient...

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[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 36 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

I wonder if that's why all the Iranian accounts suddenly stopped calling everyone "zionazis"?

I won't comment on how/why they got that memo a few days before the video, but it clearly wasn't working and makes sense they're pivoting.

From a purely technical standpoint, it always made more sense for Iranian trolls to commiserate with Americans online; play it as "the only country that wants this is Israel" would be super effective.

Insisting anyone who disagrees is a Zionist just makes the label mean nothing and makes people disregard anything else the propaganda is saying, even the true parts.

All they were doing was diving people who were already against Israel and trump

[–] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I guess Israel is so hated in the US by younger more receptive audiences that they don't need to highlight it.

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[–] TotallynotJessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone 34 points 5 months ago (3 children)

The US has given up on all of it's real strengths because Trump is too stupid to see anything but raw military might as important. The US used to be so good at winning people over through its promotion of human rights and liberal values of freedom. It was always a mask, but it was a very valuable one. It certainly never won over everyone, but it bought them enough good will to allow Pax Americana to persist. Trump has torn that mask clean off, not realizing just how much he would change the game for everyone. The very confidence and desire to be the dictator of the most powerful empire on earth has made that empire significantly less powerful.

[–] Prior_Industry@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's not just him though, there is a whole admin that is also happy to do this and these people will still be around ready to start over in another future republican government, even if it's democrats that get in next time. A bug chunk of America appears to be happy to be on this path now.

[–] TotallynotJessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

They won't be so happy when they get to experience the Great Depression 2: The Real Electric Boogaloo

[–] zebidiah@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 months ago (4 children)

they won't give a shit, the economy is just something for poor people to suffer through

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[–] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

So true. I'm glad that people acknowledge this "Liberal values" shtick was opium.for the masses. The global south has always known the US as a rapacious imperial force for resource theft, exploitation and violence

I mean, I don't have a normal perspective for an American by any stretch of the imagination. Most people here still think that America is or at some point was great.

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[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 31 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And I don't hate the Iranians. I hate both of our governments, however.

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 13 points 5 months ago

Yeah, it's funny how many shills tried calling me racist for supporting the Iranian protestors in 2021 and later in 2025 and 2026.

Like, if I was racist, then why would I care about their problems and empathize and express solidarity?

The Iranian people don't deserve to be bombed by the US and Israeli militaries. They don't deserve to be massacred for protesting against police brutality either. Or to be beaten to death in police custody for not wearing a hijab "properly."

There are some wild mental leaps that some people will go through to support a violent regime just because it's anti-West.

[–] Watermark710@piefed.social 20 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

AI slop-😡

AI slop (but it's Iran)-😍

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago

Muslim Iranian's have more in common with your everyday American's than your American Zionest Evangelical.

[–] Gnugit@aussie.zone 14 points 5 months ago

"Peace.. not for the leaders.. but the innocent souls.."

[–] zd9@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago (27 children)

Yeah so... that video is completely true and great and all... but is this video being put out by the same regime that murdered like 20 THOUSAND unarmed civilians?? Trump and his puppeteers are bad (Thiel, Heritage Foundation, Musk, Vought, Andreeson, etc.) but also the Iranian Regime is way worse. How about they all blow up each other, so the People can finally have their revolution?

[–] hcf@sh.itjust.works 36 points 5 months ago (3 children)

but is this video being put out by the same regime that [...]

It is not, actually. The group behind this is mostly a collective of around 9-10 Iran-based, Gen Z creators operating independent of the IRGC and/or official government of Iran. Their group/org name is "Explosive Media".

Lumping everyone in Iran as somehow part of "the regime" is kinda a shitty thing to do.

That, and Trump's ACA/Medicaid cuts are estimated to cause upwards of more than 50,000 premature deaths in the US, so you're also objectively wrong if going by numbers, alone.

In Trump's first term, U.S.-led coalition forces killed more than 29,000 non-combatants in Iraq and Syria.

But sure, the government fighting a CIA-backed, armed rebellion is worse than the government that--checks notes--drops tomahawk missiles on other countries' elementary schools.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago (10 children)

collective of around 9-10 Iran-based, Gen Z creators operating independent of the IRGC and/or official government of Iran.

About that...

In previous interviews the outlet has said it is "totally independent". But upon further questioning, Mr Explosive admits the regime is a "customer" - something he's never before confirmed publicly.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd8jrd1vnyo

If you're ok having your domestic fascist regime being you're "customer" you can't really push back when people call your product propaganda for the fascist regime...

"But they offer me monies!" Isn't a good enough excuse to work for fascists with criticism for it.

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[–] Eldritch@piefed.world 21 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Has more direct, violent control of their own people? Sure. Worse than trump and friends? Dunno bout that. Due to trump's malice and incompetence, he's getting people killed in the US as well as abroad. Plenty in Cuba are suffering and dying because of him right now. Africa too. They're both shit and I won't root for either. I certainly won't begrudge them killing our soldiers following illegal orders over there invading at least.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Yeah, Iran is super awful, but just the cuts to USAID are estimated to be responsible for at least half a million deaths.

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[–] Riverside@reddthat.com 19 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

murdered like 20 THOUSAND unarmed civilians?

Source: the same Zionist media denying the genocide of Palestinians. Surely a non-doctored, totally true® figure.

Also, about the "unarmed" part:

US was arming Iranian dissidents through Kurds while negotiating with Tehran, Trump reveals

So, the US sanctions Iran so heavily that the impoverished population wants to riot, and the US gives weapons to said impoverished population... Totally not a coup attempt!

[–] belluck@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The official stance of the Iranian Government is that ~3000 people were killed, ~2400 of which were civilians. Even if you choose to only believe the statement put out by the perpetrators, you still have to acknowledge that they killed multiple thousands of unarmed protestors.

If you think that shooting at civilian protestors, regardless of how much they were incited by the enemy, is in any way acceptable, then I don’t see how you can claim moral superiority.

The enemy of your enemy is not your friend.

[–] Riverside@reddthat.com 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

If you cared the slightest about Iranian lives, you'd be protesting the US and EU sanctions on Iran that have debilitated its economy and hence murdered hundreds of thousands of people during the past half century. Based on a study by The Lancet, US and EU sanctions murder HALF A MILLION PEOPLE YEARLY globally since 1975, or about 38 million murders since 1970.

The US playbook is to force economic turmoil through sanctions, literally starving people until they riot, arming the rioters, and then invading. Look at the protests' timing with the exchange rate of the Iranian Rial, the protestors were rioting because they were starved by the US. But you blame Iran for the starving people who are dead because of explicit US policy of starving and arming people as a destabilizing factor. You literally fell for the US attempt to generate support for the war (or at least reduce criticism) because "Iranian government bad", when ALL of those deaths and TENS OF MILLIONS MORE are the US's fault.

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[–] mrdown@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Please decide yourself. The regime killed 20,000, 30,000, or 40,000? The USA is responsible for millions of deaths. I am sorry, but the USA is way worse than the Iranian regime.

[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 12 points 5 months ago

Yup, and also USA helped cause this mess with Iran as well: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ohA_cqqJbyg

[–] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

the iran regime killed one billion islamillion people. look, i have a source: www.blog.palantir.com/please-just-one-more-war-please-i-beg-you-613127

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[–] egerlach@lemmy.ca 15 points 5 months ago

Two things can both be bad.

Bad people can be right.

Saying "this video by the Iranian regime roasts the US regime" doesn't automatically mean that the Iranians are right. I see the rebuttal that there's an implicit boosting and platforming of this which normalizes it. I don't know which is worse. I think we'll need hindsight for that.

[–] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

Mossad and CIA operatives kicked off a violent uprising in Iran in January, following economic protests, which targeted police and other protestors. It was a cynical attempt to encourage a crackdown so Western propaganda could use it as a basis for "humanitarian intervention"

It didn't work but that absurdly false death count has stuck around like a bad smell. Verified death count is 3,000 and many of those were police.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 6 points 5 months ago

I heard it was 20 TRILLION!!

[–] EvergreenGuru@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago (8 children)

Sorry. I don’t buy into western propaganda. The 20,000 is clearly made up.

[–] backalleycoyote@lemmy.today 4 points 5 months ago

What’s the body count have to be to solicit an unfavorable opinion? Like, can you abide a few? Gloss over a few dozen? Do you require evidence of each kill? How many people does a theocratic authoritarian government have to murder for you to be like “yeah, fuck your regime”? Don’t conflate “fuck the Ayatollah and the IRGC” with “go America”. It’s not difficult to be disgusted with two fundies leaving a trail of bodies in their wake as they argue over oil and which delivery boy made up a better version of God.

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[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Here's the link for anyone who cares.

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 4 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Sign in to confirm you're not a bot. This helps us protect the community.

Got anything besides youtube? They apparently don't want me to watch it (at least not without IDing myself to them...)

Also, how the fuck does verifying the viewer's humanity protect the fucking community? I'm not commenting or liking shit.

[–] CyroSignal@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

It's a good deed.

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