How Iranian diplomats turned embassy accounts into viral meme machines
Key takeaways
- Memes, humour, and trolling of American politicians: This is how a handful of Iranian embassies have become superstars on “X”, attracting millions of views.
- By: The FRANCE 24 Observers Iran’s embassy in Ghana published a meme on April 20, 2026 mocking US President Donald Trump by portraying him as Forrest Gump, central character in the 1994 film.
- Iran’s regime launched a counterattack online.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Memes, humour, and trolling of American politicians: This is how a handful of Iranian embassies have become superstars on “X”, attracting millions of views. But how did the old-fashioned and largely ignored accounts of Iran’s diplomats in South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom suddenly turn into Gen Z-style viral feeds, with millions of views?
By: The FRANCE 24 Observers Iran’s embassy in Ghana published a meme on April 20, 2026 mocking US President Donald Trump by portraying him as Forrest Gump, central character in the 1994 film. Similar memes published by Iranian embassies have garnered hundreds of millions of views around the world. © Observers When US and Israeli jets and missiles started attacking Iran on February 28, another battle – a propaganda war – opened up on social media. Official US accounts, including those of the Pentagon and the White House, started publishing clips of their attacks on Iran, mixed with footage from Hollywood films, video games, and cartoons.
Iran’s regime launched a counterattack online. Mocking and trolling posts from Iranian embassy accounts have targeted the US administration, notably President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the broader war narrative promoted by the US government.