Newsmax was mildly annoyed that Iran targeted it in a recent propaganda video. From an April 16 article:
Iran’s propaganda war using social media took an odd turn as the regime released a new Lego video that takes direct aim at Newsmax.
The new propaganda video, generated by artificial intelligence, starts off by claiming Americans are turning off the news since the media is “full of [expletive]” and depicts a Newsmax correspondent interviewing a soldier on the street.
Like themes in other Lego-style videos already dropped on social media, the Iranians claim that Israel is pulling the strings, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) secretly control President Donald Trump and Washington.
A frequent theme is the war was started on Israel’s behalf and to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
“Epstein, Epstein, Epstein pedophile rulers sacrificing for Israel’s lies,” a rapper sings in the new video.
The video ends with the stark warning, “Retribution is coming” as an intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from Iran, travels across the globe, and destroys the United States.
The videos, which analysts describe as highly sophisticated productions blending artificial intelligence, animation, and Western pop culture, are part of a broader effort by Iran-linked creators to infiltrate American media narratives that are shaped online.
The article didn’t dispute the accuracy of any of those claims — rather, it oddly praised the videos for being culturally relevant:
What distinguishes this latest wave is its cultural fluency, with videos deploying AI-generated voices modeled after American rap artists and weaving together conspiracy theories, satire, and highly nuanced geopolitical messaging in a format designed to strike a chord with Western audiences.
[…]The inclusion of Newsmax imagery signals a deliberate attempt to penetrate conservative media ecosystems, where audiences are highly active on platforms such as X, TikTok, and Instagram — precisely the channels where these videos have gained traction.
The scale of Iran’s social media engagement is staggering, with analysts estimating that AI-generated propaganda tied to the conflict has accumulated hundreds of millions of views, cutting across ideological lines and appearing in feeds ranging from far-right to far-left communities.
“This is not just propaganda — it’s cultural infiltration,” said information warfare expert Emma Briant, who noted that advances in AI allow state-linked actors to produce content that is “entertaining and sticky” for Western audiences in ways that were nearly impossible a few years ago.
The article went on to huff:
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have dismissed the videos as propaganda, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth calling them “disgusting and detached from reality.”
Hegseth is often a target of the videos, which accuse him of being an alcoholic and a sexual predator.
The Iranian videos are timely and often related to major news events.
Still, we suspect that Newsmax thinks its inclusion in an Iranian propaganda video is a sign that it’s made it as part of the right-wing pantheon.