Who is Amelia, the British AI girl going viral for wrong reasons?

Amelia was created as part of a UK government-funded anti-extremism project. (Image credit: X)

• AI Amelia, made for anti-radicalisation, now appears in far-right memes.
• Far-right groups use Amelia to spread racist and extremist views online.
• Amelia-themed AI videos and memes go viral, sparking controversy and debate.

Did our AI summary help?

An AI-generated teenage girl with purple hair has sparked controversy on social media, raising questions about how digital avatars can be exploited online. The teenage character, Amelia, has gone viral after being picked up by far-right groups.

Who is Amelia?

Over the past few weeks, Amelia has appeared widely in memes and AI-generated videos, particularly on X. In these posts, she is shown repeating right-wing and often racist views, while celebrating stereotypical British culture, such as drinking in pubs or referring to historic battles. Some videos take a more extreme turn, portraying her in immigration enforcement uniforms and calling for the deportation of migrants.

What is less known is that Amelia was not created to promote extremist ideas. The character was developed two years ago as part of a British government-funded educational video game aimed at tackling online radicalisation. The game, Pathways: Navigating Gaming, the Internet & Extremism, was created by nonprofit group Shout Out UK under the Home Office’s Prevent programme.

In the game, players take on the role of a student named Charlie, who befriends Amelia. As the story unfolds, Amelia introduces anti-migrant misinformation and attempts to pull Charlie towards extremist groups, showing how radicalisation can begin through everyday conversations.

However, after the game faced criticism in the media earlier this year, Amelia’s image was quickly pulled into online political debates. Far-right users began reshaping her character into a meme, using humour, irony and provocative visuals to spread their messaging. Experts say her appearance as a white, attractive teenage girl made her particularly easy to turn into viral content.

The trend has since grown rapidly. Amelia-themed AI videos have received millions of views, online communities dedicated to her have emerged, and even meme-based cryptocurrencies have been launched in her name.