Tehran is pushing slick, AI-generated content at foreign audiences while tightening control over Iranians’ online life with arrests, blackouts and surveillance. That deliberate split — public-facing digital outreach abroad and coercive censorship at home — creates political and economic headaches for governments, diasporas and technology firms, including in the UK.
Two audiences, two tactics
The Iranian government is operating a dual information strategy. One side is outward-facing and experimental — a stream of social-media content that borrows the language and tools of online culture. The other side is inward-facing and coercive — restrictions on access, targeted arrests and periodic blackouts.
The outward campaign uses formats that travel well on global platforms: short videos built from simple animation techniques, music tracks styled as diss songs, and image-based memes. Those assets are engineered to be shareable and to land with specific foreign audiences. They are meant to be consumed, reacted to and redistributed by users outside Iran.
At the same time, the domestic set of tools is blunt. Authorities have ramped up surveillance and arrest operations, and they intermittently cut or throttle internet services. Where the state allows access, it often filters content or redirects users to state-sanctioned channels, narrowing what Iranians can see and say online while projecting an edited version of events abroad.
Tools of image-making
The creative side of Tehran's campaign borrows modern techniques. Key tactics described in the programme include:
- AI-generated visuals and quick, meme-friendly clips, using low-cost assembly techniques often described as "AI Lego".
- Simple animation approaches that look polished without studio production costs.
- Music — notably hip hop and diss tracks — tailored to reach political niches overseas.
- Image-based memes and short-form content designed for rapid amplification via sympathetic accounts or automated tools.
Those tactics recognise how political debates now move: short-form content can be amplified rapidly, and styles that mimic popular culture often cross cultural boundaries, making them useful for shaping narratives abroad.
Domestic clampdown: control and consequence
Internally, the state's focus is on cutting the channels Iranians use to organise or access uncensored information. Arrests of activists, journalists and online organisers have continued, according to the programme. Internet blackouts — whether partial or full — remain a lever authorities use to slow protests or disrupt communications during sensitive periods.
These measures raise the cost of dissent, fragment online communities and create practical problems for businesses that rely on stable communications — from small online sellers to larger firms that use cloud services. Interruptions and surveillance can undermine consumer confidence and complicate engagement with Iranian customers or partners.
Diplomatic and security implications for Britain
The two-track approach presents dilemmas for the UK. A campaign that targets foreign publics affects diplomatic messaging: British officials must counter disinformation and pressure campaigns that touch on UK interests. At the same time, measures that limit Iranians' access to the internet complicate consular and humanitarian efforts and hinder UK engagement with diaspora communities.
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Contributors named on the programme included Ali Hashem, Mehran Kamrava, Tara Kangarlou and Maral Karimi.
This article was created with AI assistance.
