A U.S.-based creator who identifies himself online as Mahdi Hemmat and who has previously worked in neonatal transport is now being linked to a wave of AI-generated, Lego-style videos that praise Iran and lampoon American leaders. The toylike clips combine blocky animation with rap and political satire, racing across TikTok, X and Instagram, pulling in millions of views and worrying researchers and platform moderators. Because of ties to Milwaukee-area hospital work, the mystery around who is making the content and how it spreads has taken on a distinctly local twist.
Explosive Media And The Lego Campaign
The Lego shorts trace back to a Tehran-based outlet known as Explosive Media, also called Explosive News, which analysts say shifted in March 2026 to English-language, AI-driven Lego-style content geared toward Western audiences. The operation leans on cultural touchpoints to juice shares and engagement, according to The New Yorker. That reporting details the group’s rapid production cycle and how it wraps sharp political messages and imagery in playful, toy-themed visuals.
How Big And How It Spread
Government analysts and open-source researchers say the campaign is anything but small. Canada’s Rapid Response Mechanism estimated that at least 83 million users saw Explosive Media’s Lego-style clips in the first month of the conflict, and that the operation showed signs of state-linked amplification. Analysts told reporters that the videos leaned on AI tools, trendy music and meme formats to reach people who might otherwise skip traditional news, a pattern examined by outlets including RFE/RL.
Who’s Being Named Online
Tabloid reporting and public records searches have homed in on a U.S.-based social account and a person using the name Mahdi Hemmat as one creator posting Lego-style content. The New York Post reported that Hemmat, described there as a former neonatal transport nurse, runs accounts under the PersiaBoi/PersiaBoi handle, and a public LinkedIn profile lists work at Aurora Sinai Medical Center. An archived view of the Instagram handle @persiaboihemmat shows the creator calling himself a “Lego journalist” and posting the Lego-style clips in question.
Examples Of The Videos
The shorts swing from mocking political skits to grisly metaphor. Some clips show caricatured Western leaders as plastic figures being defeated, while others rely on violent imagery and lists of targets. The New Yorker catalogued several of the operation’s most-shared pieces and their visuals. Other outlets documented segments that sparked direct accusations and safety concerns from people featured in the videos, including a sequence activists said amounted to a threat toward commentator Laura Loomer. The Jerusalem Post and other outlets reviewed and reported on videos that Loomer labeled an assassination fantasy and said she had flagged to authorities.
Platforms And Official Reaction
Major social platforms moved to remove at least some of the group’s channels once the clips went viral. Canadian open-source investigators note that those takedowns did not stop the same material from reappearing across smaller and less-regulated services. The Rapid Response Mechanism and independent analysts say moderation has been inconsistent and that copies of removed videos continued to circulate on Telegram and other networks. Researchers warn that simply deleting accounts does not erase the impact of content designed to be endlessly remixed and reposted.
Legal And Security Questions
People targeted in the clips have said publicly that they reported threatening material to law enforcement, while right-of-center commentators have urged federal agencies to look into potential links between the accounts and foreign actors. Journalistic accounts describe at least some videos that contain violent imagery and explicit target lists, a combination that can draw attention from criminal and national security investigators. Public reporting so far, however, points to removals and warnings rather than criminal charges tied directly to the posts. The broader pattern has fueled calls for tougher platform enforcement and quicker information-sharing between social networks and investigators.
Locally, the focus on a person who lists Milwaukee-area hospital experience highlights how powerful low-cost AI tools can become once paired with savvy online distribution. Researchers say the Lego campaign is a reminder that information-war tactics do not stay on distant battlefields and that local communities can unexpectedly find themselves at the center of global influence operations, a trend first flagged in rapid-response reporting and media investigations into the Lego videos.
