Meme warfare

Have you seen the video of the US military bombing Iran spliced with clips of SpongeBob Squarepants? It’s an official video released by the US government and represents a new kind of wartime propaganda. This episode was produced by Dustin DeSoto and Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Andrea Lopez-Cruzado, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King. A screenshot from a White House X post about the Iran war titled "Operation Epic Fury." Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices