An AI-generated British schoolgirl character called Amelia—originally created for a local counter-extremism video game initiative—has spread across social media, becoming a popular meme in far-right spaces and used within a hate-for-profit scheme, including an Amelia-themed cryptocurrency.

ISD’s Sid Venkataramakrishnan spoke to several outlets including CNN and The Guardian and was interviewed by AFP about the rise of Amelia: a purple-haired goth girl that has been co-opted by the far right online.

“We have seen the meme having a remarkable spread and proliferating among the far right and beyond, but what’s also been of note is how it is now international,” Sid told The Guardian.  

In an interview with CNN, Sid also explained that Amelia “ticks a lot of boxes” for the far right, including a sarcastic, online tone that lends itself to meme culture: “It’s striking how many of the edits are highly sexualized” at the same time as similar accounts “accuse migrants of being sexual predators and sexually deviant.”

The full articles are available on CNN, The Guardian, France24, Euronews and Fox 41 local news.