Generative AI is giving extremist supporters cheap tools to produce cartoons, memes, and videos, raising concerns that an AI terrorist ecosystem could spread propaganda to younger audiences faster than platforms can identify and remove its content online at scale.
Islamist extremist groups, including supporters of the Islamic State and al Qaeda, are using generative AI tools to produce cartoon-style and stylized propaganda videos targeting younger TikTok audiences, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
The trend, “Slop Jihad,” is a term researchers use for AI-generated extremist content that borrows the aesthetic of virtual internet meme culture, cartoons, and other entertainment formats rather than the overly militant branding historically associated with jihadist propaganda.
Generative AI can turn violent extremist material into familiar entertainment formats, and researchers warn this content conceals traditional terrorist branding while allowing decentralized creators to reach users who would not intentionally search for extremist propaganda.
AI Gives Extremist Propaganda a New Look
Young supporters of ISIS and al-Qaeda are using AI tools to create animated videos, fan edits, memes, and other content for TikTok, according to WIRED. Researchers believe the terrorist use of AI is changing the appearance and accessibility of extremist messaging.
One TikTok video reportedly recreated an old Islamic State execution video using SpongeBob SquarePants characters. Other accounts transformed the Islamic State’s weekly al-Naba newsletter into anime, showing how an AI terrorist creator can repackage official material for young audiences.
Adam Hadley, executive director of the nonprofit Tech Against Terrorism, told Wired that the primary concern researchers have is the sheer increase in the volume and variety of this material, rather than any single piece of content.
The London-based research group that tracks online extremism, ISD’s researchers, identified 150 Slop Jihad videos across 71 TikTok accounts. Together, the videos received more than 5.4 million views, despite the platform’s policies against violent and hateful organizations.
“This is new, and it’s still growing; it has not peaked by any means,” said Moustafa Ayad, ISD’s research chair in global Islamism and counterterrorism.
The findings provide a clearer answer for those asking, do terrorists use AI to support their online campaigns. Generative tools can reduce production costs, accelerate translation, and let supporters create content without direct involvement from central media operations.
Researchers said the use of AI by terrorist organizations has developed over several years. In 2024, the Islamic State-affiliated News Harvest program began using AI-generated presenters to publish propaganda videos quickly and cheaply.
Today, however, the content often resembles entertainment rather than conventional extremist communication. Such terrorist AI images can reach communities interested in cartoons, violence, trolling, or online notoriety before pushing some users toward more explicit material.
This creates a moderation challenge because an AI terrorist video may not display the symbols, logos, or production styles traditionally associated with banned groups. Accounts can also establish backups and direct followers toward them after takedowns.
TikTok disputed the report’s methodology but removed the identified content. “All the content referenced in this report has been removed from TikTok,” according to a spokesperson.
Propaganda Risks Move Beyond AI Images
The Atlantic Council warned that AI could shorten the period between radicalization, recruitment, and violent action. Its report found that extremist groups already use social media, encrypted messaging, synthetic media, and decentralized technologies to maintain digital networks across borders.
The terrorist use of AI extends beyond visual propaganda. AI-powered chatbots could personalize extremist messages according to a user’s interests or grievances, while unrestricted models may provide support for propaganda production, training, or operational planning.
This means the question do terrorists use AI must also consider recruitment automation and interactive systems.
A specially developed terrorist propaganda AI model could engage many prospective recruits before human members intervene for final assessment or coordination.
The Atlantic Council’s Counterterrorism Project warned that the use of AI by terrorist organizations is likely to shrink the window between initial exposure to extremist propaganda online and radicalization.
According to The Atlantic Council, terrorists produce multilingual news videos, deepfake audio, and manipulated material following major events. During the Gaza conflict, Hamas-affiliated propagandists circulated fabricated photographs intended to inflame emotions and weaken opposing morale.
The spread of terrorist AI images is particularly difficult to contain because users can edit, translate, and repost synthetic media across several platforms.
The emerging terrorist AI threat is therefore linked to distribution networks as much as individual pieces of content.
Search phrases such as Islamic terrorist firing AI images may also expose users to synthetic depictions whose origins or authenticity are unclear. Algorithms can then recommend related posts based on engagement, potentially guiding viewers toward overt propaganda.
Countering the expanding AI terrorist ecosystem will have to be countered by governmental responses that need to move at the same pace as the technology itself, and the use of AI by terrorist organizations. It’s not just about deleting individual videos.
The Atlantic Council recommends stronger cross-border cooperation, improved sharing of digital fingerprints and behavioral indicators, and closer coordination between governments and technology companies.
Such measures must be paired with clear legal authority and safeguards for free expression, while being mindful that extremist actors often deliberately craft content to sit just below thresholds that would otherwise trigger removal under existing speech protections.
Without clear safeguards, efforts to block one AI terrorist network could incorrectly remove lawful material while extremist accounts continue migrating across platforms.
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