11/04/2026

SATURDAY | APR 11, 2026

10 White House, Iran group trade war-themed AI slop

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but Israeli media reported that air defence systems had intercepted at least one incoming rocket. Hezbollah posted several statements on Telegram saying it had launched three waves of rocket and drone strikes in the early hours of the morning against Israeli soldiers on both sides of the border as well as a town in northern Israel. The US State Department said on Thursday Israeli and Lebanese government representatives would hold talks in Washington next week, amid mounting international concerns that Israel’s campaign in Lebanon could shatter the fragile temporary truce. – AFP ISTANBUL: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei said in a message on Thursday the management of the Strait of Hormuz would “enter a new phase”, vowing that Tehran would demand compensation for all war-related damage, Anadolu Ajansi reported. The message, released by his office on the 40th day since the killing of his father, former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described his death as a “heavy and historic blow” for Iran, and one of the most painful moments in its recent history. It portrayed the current phase as a continuation of his path and legacy. Seyyed Mojtaba said Iran would move towards a new strategic phase with the Strait of Hormuz, without elaborating. He added that Iran would pursue legal and material accountability for damage. “We will certainly not leave the criminal aggressors who attacked our country unpunished.” He also said Iran would “demand compensation for all damage, as well as the blood of the martyrs and the wounded”. The remarks come as Iran prepares to negotiate with the United States in Pakistan, expected to begin today under Pakistan’s mediation and continue for up to two weeks. Iran has said the talks aim to finalise details of a potential agreement, emphasising that it does not signify the end of the conflict. Seyyed Mojtaba warned that Iran remains ready to respond to any renewed aggression. “Our hands are on the trigger,” he said, adding that any mistake by adversaries would be met with a decisive response. The region has been on alert since Israel and the United States launched an offensive against Iran on Feb 28, killing at least 3,000 people. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure, and disrupting global markets. – Bernama-Anadolu Tehran vows new phase in Hormuz management

propaganda strategy tailored for the age of AI slop and algorithmic amplification,” said Institute for Strategic Dialogue senior research manager Joseph Bodnar. “They are playing to the AI aesthetics and hyperbolic anti-imperialist narratives that draw attention, spark controversy and get rewarded by platforms.” In recent weeks, widely spread meme videos have depicted fictional Iranian military victories, world leaders in subservient scenarios, dependent on Iranian leaders for oil, and even the strategic Strait of Hormuz reimagined as a cartoonish toll booth. “It is clear that Iran is putting out content that resonates,” said Bodnar. The English-language content of Explosive Media, which describes itself as an “Iranian Lego-style animation team”, appears aimed at audiences outside Iran, where platforms such as X have been blocked for years. With Iranians facing what monitor Netblocks calls an “internet

blackout”, the ability of Explosive Media to produce slick content has fuelled suspicion of government ties. The group rejected the claim as “media distortion”. The White House’s X account has posted its own war-themed content, combining battlefield footage with clips from films such as “Iron Man”, “Gladiator” and “Top Gun”. The content highlights an internet meme battlefield that has blurred the line between propaganda and entertainment. While the Trump administration used AI-generated content in its social media strategy well before the war, the popularity of Explosive Media’s clips suggests it may be contending on the digital front, experts said. The group is “beating the Trump administration at its own game”, said American Sunlight Project CEO Nina Jankowicz. “The immature humour, polarising rhetoric, idea of ‘owning’ opponents and clicks-at-whatever-cost strategy that Trump and allies have employed is now being mobilised against it.” – AFP

o US president portrayed as old, isolated, prone to childish tantrums and seemingly disconnected from reality

WASHINGTON: Shortly after news of a US-Iran ceasefire, an Iranian group released a Lego-style video lampooning US President Donald Trump and declaring “Iran won”, the latest in a wave of war-themed AI-generated propaganda flooding the internet. Explosive Media, a group of pro-Iran creators that describes itself as independent but is widely suspected of government ties, has produced a series of such videos that have racked up millions of views during the conflict. “The way to crush imperialism has been shown to the world. Trump surrendered. Iran won,” read the caption of its video after the ceasefire agreement was announced on Tuesday. “TACO will always remain TACO,” it added, referring to the acronym “Trump always chickens out”. The ceasefire, already showing signs of strain, followed a series of apocalyptic threats from Trump, including his warning that he would take Iran back into the “Stone Age”. With dramatic background music, the video depicts a Trump-like toy figure huddling with Arab leaders, hurling a chair at US military figures, while Iranian generals press a red ISTANBUL: Gaza’s government media office yesterday denied a claim by Board of Peace envoy Nicolay Mladenov that 602 aid trucks entered the enclave a day earlier, saying only 207 trucks crossed into Gaza, including 79 carrying humanitarian assistance, Anadolu Ajansi reported. Mladenov, the Board of Peace high representative for Gaza, on Thursday said “602 trucks entered Gaza today with essential supplies for families who have waited too long”. “This is what scaled access looks like, and it must become the daily baseline, not the exception.” In response, the Gaza media office said Mladenov’s figures were “false, inaccurate and lacked credibility”. “The actual figures confirm that only 207 trucks entered the Gaza Strip, including 79 aid trucks,” it said, noting that the remaining trucks carried commercial goods for private companies. The office said the number of trucks entering the enclave “does not meet the level of humanitarian response required and in no way reflects the kind of scaled access claimed by Mladenov”. It said Israel’s implementation of the humanitarian protocol under the ceasefire agreement has not exceeded 38% of what was agreed. – Bernama-Anadolu Gaza denies claims of aid truck entry

button with the label “Back to the Stone Age”, unleashing a torrent of destruction across the Middle East. Another clip on X depicts Trump, caricatured with an oversized yellow head and a flaming backside, holding a sign that reads “Victory! I am a loser”. Explosive Media, whose videos often tap into American popular culture, has portrayed Trump as old, isolated, prone to childish tantrums and seemingly disconnected from reality. Iranian state media and diplomatic accounts have leaned into their strategy, regularly posting similar so-called AI slop, meaning mass-produced content created by cheap AI tools. “Iran has crafted a wartime

Rescue personnel at the site of an Israeli strike at the Corniche al-Mazraa neighbourhood of Beirut. – AFPPIC

Israel and Lebanon exchange strikes towns and villages across southern Lebanon, including Bint Jbeil, Khiam, Tyre Debba, Bazouriyeh, Kafra, Harouf, Tebnine and Touline.

ISTANBUL: Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon have killed 24 people over the past 24 hours as strikes hit at least 52 towns and areas across the country’s south, Anadolu Ajansi reported the Lebanese Health Ministry as saying on Thursday. The deadliest strike targeted a residential building in the southern town of Zrariyeh, killing 10 people, including women and children, Lebanon’s state news agency said. Seven people were killed in an attack on Abbassiyeh, and three were killed and five injured in Jibsheet. In Borj Qallawiyeh, four paramedics were killed in an Israeli strike that destroyed homes, shops, a mosque and a civil defence centre. Israeli attacks also hit dozens of

While Islamabad and Tehran said the ceasefire includes Lebanon, Washington and Tel Aviv denies that. Meanwhile, air raid alerts rang out across Israel yesterday, including in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv and in the southern coastal city of Ashdod following rocket fire from Lebanon. Continued fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah is testing the fragile truce reached between the United States and Iran. Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire repeatedly on Thursday. The Israeli army’s Home Front Command issued alerts for several areas following yesterday’s rocket fire, including the Tel Aviv area and southern communities far from the Lebanon border.

In Beirut, Israeli warplanes struck the Shiyyah area in the southern suburb for a second time within hours. The attacks come as the Israeli army continues its widened assault on Lebanon since Wednesday, killing over 303 people and injuring 1,150 others, according to the Lebanese Civil Defence. The offensive continued despite a two-week ceasefire announced on Tuesday by the United States and Iran, brokered by Pakistan, as part of efforts to reach a broader agreement to halt the conflict.