Iran’s viral Lego-style war videos win war of narrative
Analysts say low-cost, high-impact animations blend symbolism, satire and geopolitics to shape global opinion
TEHRAN, Iran (MNTV) — Viral videos produced by Iranian creators are emerging as a potent tool in the online information battle, with analysts saying the high-quality yet low-cost animations strike at fissures in U.S. politics while rallying global audiences against what they portray as Washington’s long history of wars and abuses.
One widely shared video opens with a Native American chief riding across a barren, moonlit landscape before cutting rapidly to scenes depicting victims of U.S. policies — from enslaved Black Americans to detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, says an Al Jazeera report.
The sequence shifts to Iranian soldiers placing banners on missiles as the music intensifies. Messages appear one after another: “For the stolen Blacks,” “For the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” and “In memory of victims of Iran Air flight 655,” referring to the 1988 downing of a passenger plane that killed all 290 people aboard.
Other references include American activist Rachel Corrie, killed in Gaza in 2003, and victims of wars in Afghanistan, Vietnam and Iraq, along with allusions to the “children of Epstein island.” The video culminates with collapsing statues of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, ending with the phrase: “ONE VENGEANCE FOR ALL.”
Released March 29, the video is one of several by Explosive Media, a Tehran-based group using Lego-style figures and environments to build a viral social media trend aligned with Iran’s narrative during the war with the United States and Israel.
The clip has drawn nearly 150,000 views on X, while the group’s YouTube channel was recently removed by Google. A representative for Explosive Media, speaking anonymously to Al Jazeera, said the account was taken down for allegedly promoting violence — a characterization the group disputes.
“There was frustration, but no surprise — this story is not new,” the representative said. “We know well how the West wraps truth in silence and tries to mute every voice that speaks it.”
Symbolism and satire
The animations range from somber narratives rooted in Shia Muslim history to fast-paced rap-style videos mocking political figures. According to the group, recurring colors carry symbolic meaning: green represents Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Muhammad and a symbol of resistance against oppression, while red signifies the oppressor.
Some videos deploy phrases such as “Epstein regime” and “LOSER,” echoing rhetoric often used by Trump himself. In these clips, a stylized version of the former U.S. president is shown making promises about avoiding wars and supporting working-class Americans, only for his own words to be repurposed to suggest hypocrisy and alignment with Israeli interests.
“LOSER is one of our best creations,” the spokesperson said. “So we flipped it — and showed that, in the end, he’s the biggest loser of all.”
Other productions address regional audiences directly. One video aimed at Lebanon pledged that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would stand by the country following intense bombardment.
The team behind Explosive Media consists of about 10 members, aged between 19 and 25. Despite internet restrictions inside Iran, they maintain access to global platforms. The spokesperson acknowledged that some Iranian state-affiliated outlets purchase their content, while insisting the group operates independently.
“We create the content first, and if the quality is strong enough, media organizations choose to buy it,” he said.
Breaking through the narrative
Explosive Media is part of a broader trend. Other creators, including PersiaBoi and Southern Punk, have adopted similar Lego-style formats. The approach has also spread to Pakistan, where groups such as Nukta Media produced their own versions ahead of Iran-U.S. talks in Islamabad on April 11.
Analysts say the appeal lies in the format’s accessibility and layered messaging.
Islamabad-based commentator Fasi Zaka said the videos cut through a global information landscape long shaped by Western media narratives.
“These videos are ways of breaking through what is an information highway stacked against them,” he said.
Zaka noted that references to issues such as the Epstein files and “MAGA” politics tap into existing divisions within U.S. society.
“It seems like fun, but it’s really, really smart,” he said.
He also pointed to deeper symbolism, including the use of Lego-style visuals — familiar to children worldwide — in the wake of reported attacks that killed scores of Iranian schoolchildren early in the war.
“It all comes together in this way,” he said.
A digital battleground
Media analyst Marc Owen Jones of Northwestern University in Qatar said Iran’s communications strategy reflects an understanding that influence in modern conflicts extends beyond the battlefield.
“Their best bet of success is to have public opinion on their side,” he said. “And the communications game in this day and age is one in which this kind of ‘owning smack-talk type’ propaganda wins.”
Jones added that the themes explored in the videos might resonate more strongly with Western audiences if they did not originate from Iran, given longstanding perceptions shaped by decades of geopolitical tension.
Zaka argued that the tone of the videos mirrors Trump’s own blunt communication style.
“Ultimately, the Iranian Lego videos are very good,” Jones said. “They’re actually well thought out. There’s a lot of detail. There’s a narrative. Whereas U.S. propaganda is just explosions with Hollywood films cut through them.”
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