An AI-generated British schoolgirl named Amelia, originally created to deter young people from far-right extremism, has been co-opted by online users and transformed into a viral meme promoting racist and anti-immigrant messages. The character, a purple-haired 'goth girl' carrying a mini Union Jack, first appeared in a Home Office-funded video game called Pathways: Navigating the Internet and Extremism, designed for 13- to 18-year-olds in Yorkshire.
Videos featuring Amelia show her walking through London or the House of Commons, warning about 'militant Muslims' and 'third-world migrants'. Users on X have used the platform's Grok AI tool to create thousands of variations, including Manga-style and Wallace and Gromit versions, often accompanied by racist language. The meme has spread rapidly, with posts rising from 500 a day in early January to over 11,000 on X alone by mid-month.
Analysis by Peryton Intelligence, a UK disinformation monitoring firm, traced the meme's origin to an anonymous account known for far-right content. The account's initial post on 9 January has been viewed 1.4 million times. A cryptocurrency token linked to Amelia has also emerged, with Elon Musk retweeting a promotional account. Matteo Bergamini, CEO of Shout Out UK, which created the original game, described the trend as 'the monetisation of hate' and reported receiving threats.
Bergamini defended the original game, stating it was never intended as a standalone tool but as part of a classroom resource package. He criticised misrepresentation of the project, noting that the game did not suggest questioning mass migration was inherently wrong. Despite the backlash, the character's subversion has astonished even its creators, highlighting the challenges of countering extremism in the age of AI.
