Iranian state media circulated a video of a Lego doll depicting U.S. President Donald Trump being set on fire, and mourners at Ali Khamenei’s funeral repeatedly called for Trump’s death and burned effigies of the U.S. leader. The burning in effigy was a symbolic funeral for the American leader.The clip fits into a genre sometimes called “Lego propaganda,” short animations generated by artificial intelligence that feature Lego-like characters that advance the Islamic Republic’s narrative. A group called Blast Media, widely suspected of having ties to the Iranian government, produced a series of such videos that received millions of views during the conflict.One video showed Trump, with an oversized yellow head and flaming back, holding a sign that read “Victory! I’m a loser.” YouTube suspended Explosive Media’s account last week due to “violent content.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the ban as an attempt to suppress the “truth” about the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.The videos tapped into American pop culture to portray Trump as an old, isolated man prone to losing his temper. The genre marks a shift from traditional state propaganda to algorithmically optimized viral content designed for social media.Khamenei was laid to rest on Thursday in his birthplace, Mashhad, one of Iran’s holiest cities. The six-day funeral drew millions of mourners from across Iran and Iraq. His funeral prayers were led by 101-year-old hardline cleric Hossein Nouri Hamedani. Throughout the ceremony, Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, remained absent from public view.
