YouTube said on Thursday that it had decided to suspend an account sharing pro-Iran videos with the look and feel of The Lego Movie due to breaches of policy.
A representative for the video-sharing platform owned by US technology giant Google confirmed the claims by Explosive Media that its channel had been taken down in recent days.
"We terminated the channel for violating our spam, deceptive practices and scams policies," a statement provided to The National read.
It was unclear what part of YouTube's policies had been breached. The long YouTube policy guide says breaches could involve the use of misleading thumbnails, comment spam, unauthorised use of third-party content or financial scams.
"Please note these policies also apply to external links in your content," YouTube's policy guide states. "This can include clickable URLs, verbally directing users to other sites in video, as well as other forms."
Explosive Media initially said that YouTube had removed its channel for showing "violent content".
The platform has not yet responded to The National's request for comment.
Explosive Media's accounts on X, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, UpScrolled and other platforms are still running. Its Instagram account was blocked for several hours last week, but later returned.
"Look, we survived the ban," the group posted on Instagram's story feature. "Huge respect to everybody who had our back and stayed solid."
The popularity of the videos, which mimic the style of the popular series of Warner Bros-produced films, have also raised legal questions.
"Does the Lego company just accept it or do they call the UN and speak to legal?" a user on X joked.
"I don't think that Iran has to abide by US copyright laws," another post read.
Lego, based in Denmark, has not yet responded to request for comment. Warner Bros also did not immediately respond.
The creation of AI-generated videos continues to grow. Even the Trump White House has put out several such videos and photos.
One of the more prominent creations, released after the launch of the war with Iran, included clips from the game Call of Duty, interspliced with White House and US military images.
But the anti-US videos created by Explosive Media have received significantly more shares and engagement.
The group's content started to appear in 2025, and consisted largely of political commentary delivered by a young Iranian.
As tension increased between the US and Iran in February, the videos began to take on a more polished look. They began to incorporate AI tools and the motif of The Lego Movie to respond to geopolitical issues in a way that was sympathetic to Iran and critical of the US.
One video shows Mr Trump having a terrifying dream about the after-effects of launching strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure, including extreme suffering in the US and throughout the Middle East. It concludes with him tearfully eating a taco, a reference to "Trump Always Chickens Out".
The videos have been viewed millions of times and shared by the official social media accounts of Iranian officials and embassies around the world.
Plea for financial assistance
The AI-generated videos by Explosive Media are not cheap to produce, apparently. On Wednesday, the group said that it would need financial assistance to keep producing content.
"To keep improving and cover the production costs of our animations, we need additional funding," a message on the company's Telegram channel read in part.
"So if you enjoy our work, you can support us by making a donation through this wallet." The message included a QR code linking to Bitcoin and Solana crypto accounts.
An earlier post on the Telegram channel stated: "We're not stopping – the Lego-style animations will keep coming, stronger than ever."
Much of Iran has probably not seen the videos by Explosive Media. Since the US and Israeli military strikes began on February 28, Iran has imposed a nationwide internet blackout affecting 99 per cent of the country.
NetBlocks, a non-profit organisation that monitors the internet, has said that it is the longest such internet blackout ever recorded.
"Metrics show the internet blackout in Iran is ongoing into its 48th day after 1,128 hours," a social media post from NetBlocks read on Thursday.
