When war goes viral: How memes became weapons in US, Israel–Iran clash

When an X user asked Iran’s Mumbai consulate if it was hiring Indians for its “media team”, the reply, which was warm, witty, and self-aware, went viral. The embassy replied, “Hi. We’d genuinely love to, but at the moment there are no vacancies.” It added, “Our current team is all Iranian (with a soft spot for India), though bringing our Indian friends onboard someday is a pretty great idea". It also revealed something deeper: in today’s conflicts, perception is as fiercely contested as territory.

Users' request was in response to the memes and AI-generated images and videos posted by the Iranian embassies amid the ongoing US–Israel war with Iran, which began on February 28, 2026.

As the conflict appears to be escalating again after a fragile ceasefire, another battle is unfolding online. Here, memes are trivialising violence, amplifying propaganda, and reshaping how the war is perceived. Missiles may dominate the war, but memes increasingly define the narrative.

With the conflict remaining largely inconclusive in recent days, Iran appears to recognise that it is not only fighting the US and Israel militarily, but also engaging in a parallel contest of mockery and memes.

This article explores how memes are influencing public perception of war.

What are memes?

Memes are short, shareable pieces of visual or textual content that use humour, symbols, and cultural references to communicate ideas.

In today’s political landscape, they function as tools of information warfare, shaping how power is projected, contested, and understood. Depending on their tone and target, memes can mobilise supporters, ridicule opponents, persuade audiences, or manipulate opinion, according to a research report by Nottingham Trent University that analysed meme's role during the Ukraine war.

The report notes that memes are the modern equivalent of wartime propaganda posters. Like those used during the First and Second World Wars, they simplify complex realities, appeal to emotion, and reinforce identity, unity, and opposition.

Iran’s meme-driven information war

Posts and videos shared by Iran-backed accounts and embassies frequently mock or vilify US President Donald Trump, portraying him as a leader who indiscriminately targets civilians. Many posts also exaggerate or fabricate attacks on American and Israeli targets, often referencing figures such as Jeffrey Epstein.

This online trolling peaked during a viral episode involving the Strait of Hormuz. At the height of tensions, when Trump issued a “reopen or else” ultimatum for April 7, the Iranian Embassy in Zimbabwe jokingly claimed it had “lost the key” to the strategic passage. After the deadline passed and a fragile ceasefire took hold, the embassy returned with a punchline: “We found the keys.” The Iranian Embassy in South Africa joined in, posting, “Eish, eventually. I told you it was under the flower pot, lazy.”

Earlier, DH reported on AI-generated Lego-style animation videos recreating scenes from the conflict and mocking Trump also went viral, further amplifying the digital campaign.

Iranian missions have also circulated political cartoons. One shared by the embassy in Bulgaria depicted an arm bearing Iran’s flag gripping Trump’s neck, symbolising dominance. Another, posted by the Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif, showed Trump being lifted by a hand, again suggesting Iranian control.

According to a report by The New York Times, Iran is conducting a sophisticated information campaign, with support from Russia and China, to exploit global opposition to the US–Israeli military campaign while deflecting attention from its own battlefield losses.

“They’re winning the propaganda war,” said Darren L. Linvill of Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub. “They were prepared for it more than the administration, because they’d been preparing for this entire conflict for 50 years,” the report added.

Even during the ceasefire, Iranian accounts remained active. Responding to speculation that the US had tried to restrict their posts as part of ceasefire terms, the Iranian Embassy in South Africa wrote:

“I heard that one of the 15 conditions set by the U.S. was that we @IraninSA should not publish posts. Don’t worry, this condition was not accepted.”

Public reactions to such posts were often appear desensitised, with users responding through humour, posting laughing emojis or counter-memes, while some express concern that Iran “should really really be worried.”

The US also joins the meme battlefield

The United States has also embraced meme-driven communication. The White House’s official social media accounts frequently use animated clips, pop culture references, and stylised edits.

Some posts feature familiar music, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” with dramatic visuals, while others remix popular video games like Nintendo’s Wii Sports, ending with footage of explosions.

Psychological impact: How memes shape perception

According to a Psychology Today report by Pamela Rutledge, media psychologist and Director of the Media Psychology Center, memes are highly effective because they rely on fast, emotionally driven processing. They bypass critical thinking by appealing directly to feelings, group identity, and instinctive reactions.

Rather than creating new visual languages, both the US and Iran repurpose familiar cultural symbols, such as Call of Duty, Marvel’s Iron Man, or Pokémon, to frame military narratives. By embedding war imagery within recognisable entertainment formats, they trigger positive associations that shape perception, adds the report.

Emotions like fear, pride, or humour influence what people notice and how they interpret events. For instance, pairing a character like SpongeBob with scenes of explosions can sanitise conflict, turning it into something that feels like entertainment and trivialising real-world violence, said Rutledge in the report.

As people scroll through war content alongside everyday entertainment, they may not realise how these messages shape what they accept, ignore, or fail to question.

“Propaganda has always worked best when the audience doesn’t know it’s the target. Social media has made that easier than ever. When war becomes indistinguishable from entertainment, it raises serious concerns for democratic discourse," Rutledge notes.

Psychologists describe this trend as “memetic warfare,” where humour and virality make military action appear controlled, even heroic, while softening its consequences, reported USA Today.

"These memes normalize a hypermasculine, militarized response and encourage people to automatically accept policies that would look very different in a sober news briefing," Rutledge told USA Today.

Arienne Ferchaud of Florida State University highlighted another concern:

"If people are naturally coming to these memes ... it's telling you something about the nature of society, right? It's telling you something about the way people are feeling about it," she said. "When it's coming from the government, though, you don't get that aspect of kind of societal commentary because it's coming from people in power," told USA Today.

She added that presenting war in a meme-driven format can minimise its perceived severity:

"The idea is to craft a certain message and a certain feeling. We don't want people to think, 'This is a very serious issue where people are dying and it's unjust,'" Ferchaud said. "We don't want people to think that if we want to go over there and fight. It is thoughtful and intentional."

The need for media literacy

The Nottingham Trent University study stresses the urgent need for stronger media literacy. It calls for training programmes across civil society and recommends that social media platforms revise moderation policies, such as disabling autoplay, enabling content warnings, and improving AI detection of graphic material.

With the volume of war-related content rising rapidly, the report emphasises that content filters must be strengthened to better manage images depicting death, pain, and suffering.

In an era where memes travel faster than missiles, the battle for perception is as critical as the one on the ground.