The ongoing presence of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in cities has struck fear into American citizens all over the country. In the U.S., more than 675,000 people were deported during President Donald Trump’s first term back in office. The Trump administration has used social media as one of their ways to respond to the pushback against its controversial decisions by posting memes and propaganda on White House social media accounts. Experiences where families are separated and people are killed should be dealt with carefully to avoid coming off as insensitive.
There have been numerous protests against ICE invading cities with chants such as, “ICE out now” and, in Minnesota, “Minnesota ain’t afraid of a little ice.” As of Jan. 26, two Minneapolis citizens—Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti—were both fatally shot by ICE during protests. Both were U.S. citizens.
The unique responses to protests by the Trump administration in the form of social media posts are “geared toward a younger audience,” said Kit Maher of CNN. Posting images or videos helps the administration’s posts come off as more relatable. Their tactic of “hijacking trends” is a way to easily meet Americans where they are—on the internet. Using popular formats like edits or AI-generated media pushes their propaganda onto the feeds of the public and aligns with what consumers are already watching.
A post on the White House X account showing a compilation of immigrants being detained, repeating lyrics from Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Juno”: “Have you ever tried this one?” gained popularity.
A day later, the pop star responded on X.
“This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” said Carpenter. The post was taken down shortly after her reply.
The posts being created minimize the experiences of detainees. Meanwhile, in detention facilities, immigrants are left feeling helpless and scared. Their health and well-being are at stake.
“We were asked to strip naked in front of each other,” asylum recipient from Egypt, Ayman Soliman, told The New York Times. “I was never able to breathe fresh air.”
Healthcare was another area of neglect in detention facilities.
“My body was really starting to shut down. I felt like, ‘oh my goodness, am I going to die here?’” Peruvian green card holder Jemmy Jimenez Rosa said to the New York Times as well.
Additionally, the Department of Justice (DOJ) posted an AI-generated image of a Canadian children’s book character, Franklin the Turtle. Captioned “Franklin becomes a deportation judge,” the post aimed to recruit people to become judges for the cause. “Apply now!” they urged. The post is still up. The publisher of the series, Kids Can Press, responded with criticism.
“We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name,” Kids Can Press said on X.
The White House’s tactic of dividing citizens over inflammatory content is considered a modern propaganda strategy. The propaganda also inflicts fear on immigrants. Unfortunately, these examples aren’t the only instances where the Trump administration has poked fun at deportation. They have used other popular audios as well, such as the Jet2Holiday jingle and SZA’s “Big Boys”. This tactic gets people to interact with their content, even if it’s through hate comments.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded to the pushback in a statement to Spectrum News.
“Thank you to the media for continuing to amplify our banger videos,” she said to them. Her remiss response shows the insensitivity of the content they’re posting. Extremely sensitive topics should be approached in a more respectful manner. Twisting an experience of terror into something to laugh about is distasteful. We can and should do better.
Directing your attention away from the harmful messages being put out can benefit the community. Interact less with media you don’t want to see. It shows that we won’t be divided by juvenile propaganda. Speaking out on your beliefs is another powerful move to prove that social media can’t influence us as strongly as the government thinks it can. Continue to stand up for what is right, and we as a country can take steps to treat serious topics seriously.
