The U.S.-Israel military operation in Iran was almost immediately met with a virtual blitzkrieg of messaging against the war, at times trying to undermine President Trump for domestic political reasons in a midterm election year, but oftentimes reflecting key talking points of the regime in Tehran.
Across languages and platforms, narratives quickly emerged, traveling through a loose ecosystem of commentators and activists: the U.S. is engaged in an illegitimate war; Iran is the aggrieved party; Israel is a civilizational threat.
This effort to derail the campaign and attack both the Trump administration and Israel is certainly not the sole reason for the war's rising unpopularity, but it is a major factor.
On April 9, Trump took to Truth Social to sharply rebuke some U.S. ex-MAGA influencers – Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelley, and Alex Jones, " . . . they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon – Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs."
These mega-influencers are not alone.
In times of conflict, the most uncompromising opinions are often shouted from a safe distance. Diasporas, exiles, media figures, and opinion leaders removed from war's risks and realities often articulate maximalist positions without facing the consequences.
These info-war fighters are relatively safe from the political and even physical threats posed by external rivals,as well as by hostile state and non-state actors.
They are free to transform their political commitments into moral absolutes and just click the "send" button.
Given America’s freedom of expression, politicians and political commentators not engaged with reality can become uncompromising, performative, and vicious. Absolutist assertions can provide utterly false "clarity."
Great power politics demand realism.
The politics of personal and reputational destruction demands only stridency, stamina, and platforms to spread vitriol – often, the simpler the ideas presented, the better.
In times of crisis and on social media, with its insatiable "engagement"- seeking algorithms and talking heads often become propaganda-amplifying megaphones, vilifying the "wrong" side, and reshaping how conflicts are understood and responded to.
These pundits fabricate ideological tests and turn discourse into a moral "kill zone" with no room for inconvenient truths.
In democratic societies, the ability to criticize government policy is a fundamental aspect of freedom, whether of one’s home government or another nation.
However, when critique adopts the language of demonic vilification, it sharpens polarization, undermines cohesion, and damages national resiliency, de facto furthering the strategic objectives of rival states.
With today’s technology, these purveyors of hate can be located anywhere.
Moscow-based commentator Karine Gevorgyan operates within the Russian media sphere, appears on state-aligned platforms, and has a substantial online following.
Her commentary closely mirrors Tehran's framing: the U.S.is an aggressor without legal or moral standing, Iran is resilient and supported, and the broader conflict is evidence of Western overreach and decline.
Gevorgyan speaks in the language of geopolitical realism.
Yet her arguments consistently attribute conspiratorial motives to Western actors, confer coherence and legitimacy upon the Iranian brutal theocracy, and either excuse or disregard its 50-year istory of terrorism, regional aggression, and merciless internal repression.
This asymmetry is characteristic of propaganda, but Gevorgyan lends it a veneer of scholarship through historical references and cultural narratives.
Her pronouncements are echoed by others.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the lobbying arm of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnak nationalist socialist revolutionaries who launched their initial effort in 1890 under the Ottoman Empire with Russian imperial support.
ANCA’s implacable antipathy towards Azerbaijan makes it more hawkish than the government of Armenia itself, which is pursuing a fragile but deliberate peace process with U.S. help, aimed at stabilizing the region after decades of conflict.
This has ANCA leading tactical coalitions involving Code Pink, whose leadership and funding are connected to anti-U.S./pro-CCP multi-millionaire Nevel Roy Singham, and NIAC – the National Iranian American Council – flagged by some leaders of the Iranian Woman, Life, Freedom movement as well as members of the U.S. Senate as a public influence operation set up by the theocratic regime in Tehran.
In doing so, ANCA demonstrates its clear willingness to align with entities advocating the rise of the "global south" and the weakening or elimination of U.S. influence to advance its objectives.
ANCA also echoes Tehran’s talking points, such as accusing Israel of abetting genocide in Karabakh, or pushing conspiracy theories portraying Israel as the secret master of American policy.
Ana Kasparian of The Young Turks, an online far-left online and TV show founded by Cenk Uygur, has platformed increasingly sharp criticism of Israel over the years, particularly since Jerusalem’s response to the October 2023 attack by Hamas led to war in Gaza.
Her remarks have now become full-throated demonization (“Israel is evil, genocidal, and has destroyed our country;" " . . . the only reason why we [the U.S.] have a bad relationship with Iran is because of Israel.”)
Emotionally appealing narratives that cast the U.S. as illegitimate, elevate its adversaries as victims, and delegitimize its allies contribute to domestic radicalization, which will be poisonous at the midterms.
The task, ultimately, is not to silence dissent but to distinguish between critique grounded in fact and rhetoric that serves those who undermine American national interests.
In an era where distance no longer limits influence, the responsibility that comes with political commentary and analysis has never been greater.
(A realted story may be found here.)
Ivan Sascha Sheehan is the interim dean of the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore where he is a professor of public and international affairs. The views expressed are the author’s own. Follow him on X @ProfSheehan. Read more Ivan Sascha Sheehan's Insider articles — Click Here Now.
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