A recently appeared character called Amelia, an AI-generated British schoolgirl, is going viral and getting adopted as a far-right social media influencer. Amelia’s adventures on camera frequently take her back into important places around London, such as the House of Commons. There, she continues to unabashedly express her patriotic sentiments and sound the alarm over alleged dangers posed by “militant Muslims” and “third-world migrants.” This mysterious phenomenon has been the subject of much controversy. It has sparked emotional and sometimes vitriolic discussions along AI’s impacts on political discourse and anti-hate speech laws.
In another video, Amelia faces an actual confrontation. A bearded man dressed in traditional Islamic clothing berates her for eating a pork sausage. This clip exemplifies the provocative nature of the content being produced under her name, raising questions about the impact of such portrayals on societal perceptions of different communities.
The digital game that birthed Amelia was more than a nice diversion. It functioned as a vehicle purpose-built to respond to a uniquely local menace. Developers used insights from focus group sessions with young people to inform its curriculum. The project complements the British government’s Prevent counter-terrorism programme, which it says seeks to keep people from being drawn into terrorism and violent extremism. As a result, players can take specific steps in the game that drive referrals under this program. This is troubling enough when you consider what might happen if someone interacts with that content.
Responses from the education space have been overwhelmingly positive, including this one. What’s more, it was never intended to be a standalone game. The developers intended it primarily as an advocacy and educational resource. It quickly morphed into a cyber craze, with an unanticipated twist.
The public phenomenon surrounding Amelia has inspired the creation of an Amelia-centered cryptocurrency. These days, users of social media are able to use its increasing popularity to achieve great monetary benefits. Crucially, most recently, Elon Musk tweeted the account advocating this Amelia cryptocurrency token, massively increasing its visibility and popularity.
Starting from January 15th, the volume of user generated content related to #Ameliaposting has exponentially increased. Daily posts have increased from about 500 to almost 10,000! Users on the social media platform X have turned to its Grok AI tool to generate a plethora of Amelia memes, causing her presence to extend beyond niche online communities into more mainstream visibility.
Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), noted the international scope of the meme. He noted, “We have seen the meme having a remarkable spread and proliferating among the far right and beyond, but what’s been of note is how it is now international.” This troubling phenomenon highlights the material global consequences of AI-generated content helping spread and shape far-right ideologies in countries around the world.
Matteo Bergamini, founder and CEO of Shout Out UK, remarked on the disturbing monetization side to this new phenomenon. He stated, “What we’re seeing is the monetisation of hate,” suggesting that individuals are capitalizing on the attention surrounding Amelia for financial gain. Bergamini expressed concern over misrepresentations associated with the game, stating, “There has been a lot of misrepresentation unfortunately,” and clarified that “the game does not state, for example, that questioning mass migration is inherently wrong.”
Amelia’s evolution includes more advanced versions. This latest round of prototypes reflects a diverse set of artistic styles—from Manga to Wallace and Gromit-esque designs. AI painted some wild images and led Amelia to meet some of her favorite fictional characters, like Father Ted and Harry Potter. Sadly, these interactions almost always consist of extreme racist rhetoric and overtly far-right messages. This diversity in representation demonstrates how the meme has evolved into a multifaceted entity that resonates with various online subcultures.
On Wednesday, this hashtag #Amelia blew up with 11,137+ posts on X. This explosive increase is a testament to the meme’s remarkable virality, reach, and impact across social media channels. The exponential increase of this type of content raises important questions. It’s time for creators and platforms to be held accountable for the spread of misinformation and hate speech.