Culture | Prophets of doomscrolling
A joyless theocracy produces wittier videos than the Trump administration
Photograph: Explosive Media
Apr 17th 2026|WASHINGTON, DC|4 min read
In previous decades, propaganda for murderous Middle Eastern regimes tended to be unpersuasive. As American forces rolled into the Iraqi capital in 2003, Saddam Hussein’s information minister, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf, stood on a roof and claimed that “Baghdad is safe…the infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gate.” He added that God was “grilling their stomachs in hell”. Behind him, television audiences could see Iraqi soldiers fleeing for their lives.
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