Gory AI clips showing fruits and vegetables carrying out acts of violence are being used to circulate extremist messages on TikTok, creating what researchers describe as a “radicalising potential” for young people.
The videos appear to evade TikTok’s rules against extreme violent content, according to the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET).
Presented through a “cute” and “Pixar-like” visual style, some of the clips contain messages associated with extremist movements including the so-called Islamic State (IS), far-right “accelerationism” and “nihilistic violence extremism”, GNET said in a report published today.
The material has emerged alongside a wider trend of AI-generated videos featuring anthropomorphic food in exaggerated storylines involving romance, betrayal and scandal.
“More concerning, however, is the escalation from absurdist AI-generated drama into explicitly graphic content.
“The radicalising potential of this content does not necessarily lie in ideological messaging alone, but in the normalisation of cruelty, emotional numbness and algorithmically amplified shock culture.
“In this sense, the transition from harmless surreal humour to graphic AI gore reflects a broader dynamic of online radicalisation: the gradual erosion of emotional boundaries through constant exposure to increasingly violent and dehumanising imagery.”
AI foods using guns, axes to kill enemies in videos
In some clips, animated foods wield guns and axes against their enemies. Others contain apparent links to named criminal and extremist organisations.
One video examined by researchers appears to imitate official IS propaganda, showing a carrot causing a potato to “explode”.
Another features a character called the “Carrot Khalifah” declaring to his followers that “the Carrot State will rise again” — language experts said echoes an infamous IS slogan.
Two IS-related posts also carried hashtags frequently used by the group’s supporters to spread propaganda.
GNET additionally identified an account posting violent AI-generated fruit and vegetable videos while referring to the neo-Nazi terrorist organisation Atomwaffen Division and the nihilistic violence subculture No Lives Matter.
Researchers said some comments expressed extreme right-wing beliefs. The phrase “potato supremacy”, for example, was identified as a reference to white supremacy.
One post cited in the report shows an AI-generated tomato declaring: “No vegetables matter.”
The researchers said: “It is clear that AI-generative platforms are a crucial tool for creating viral content online, including violent and extremist content, as in the aforementioned cases.
AI fruit scenes are optimised for engagement, researchers say
“Food violence-based material empowered by AI is easily accessible, putting minors and youth at risk of inadvertently consuming graphic or disturbing content.
“Scenes with AI fruit and vegetables are simple and highly repetitive. They require no cognitive effort, provide constant rewards through unexpected scenes, and are perfect for endless scrolling.
“They are specifically designed for the algorithm, extremely quick to produce, and optimised for engagement. Hence, they act as attention traps.”
The researchers warned that users could “stumble” across terrorist material and gradually move closer to online communities linked to extremist causes.
GNET said the comment sections could become “communication hubs”, allowing users to exchange additional information.
“This type of content can lay the basis for the consumption of further violence-based audiovisual material, making young users fall into the trap of online radicalisation and audiovisual violence consumption,” it said.
The report’s authors urged TikTok to introduce “countermeasures” capable of limiting the spread of AI-generated violent content.
TikTok has been approached for comment.
