Iran’s recent propaganda—which makes use of memes and new technology— represents a notable shift that may be adapted for future conflicts.

ISD’s Bret Schafer and Moustafa Ayad were featured in The New York Times’ coverage of Iran’s new style of propaganda, which is spreading across social media platforms with the intention of undermining US support.

“It’s spoken to the sort of Gen Z language of the internet in ways certainly diplomats don’t normally do,” Bret said. “They have taken a regime that is, I mean, brutal and pretty awful and didn’t have exactly a great global reputation and turned them into kind of a plucky, fun underdog.”

Moustafa also spoke to the outlet on the novelty of Iran’s tactics. 

“They’re talking in a way that’s fundamentally changed. If you go back two months and look at what they were putting out, it’s nothing like this.”  

The outlet highlighted ISD’s recent analysis on official Iranian accounts’ posts, which found a substantial increase in interactions and views following the onset of the war. They also cited ISD’s conclusion that Iran’s new propaganda strategy offers a blueprint for future authoritarian actors. 

The full article is available on The New York Times.