White House Blasted over Using Spider-Man to Promote ICE Campaign
The post drew backlash from Marvel fans and calls for Marvel and Sony to sue after the White House paired Spider-Man with deportation messaging.
- On Thursday, August 6, the Trump administration shared AI-generated artwork on Instagram featuring Spider-Man assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, captioned "Your friendly neighbourhood ICE agents" and "Criminal illegal aliens will be caught and deported."
- This usage follows a pattern of "memetic warfare" by the Trump administration, which frequently co-opts cultural icons like Superman and Hannibal Lecter for political messaging, with each reference backfiring among creators and fans.
- Fans criticized the post, citing The Spectacular Spider-Man #137–138, which depicts Peter Parker protecting vulnerable immigrants, while commenters demanded that Marvel and Sony "sue for infringement" regarding unauthorized use of their intellectual property.
- High-Profile artists including Katy Perry and Ariana Grande have previously condemned the White House for using their music in ICE videos without permission, describing such unauthorized associations as "inhumane" and contrary to their artistic intent.
- It remains unclear whether the post will be removed, continuing a pattern that previously drew condemnation from Japanese government officials over unauthorized use of Pokémon and Dragon Ball imagery in ICE campaigns.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Trump White House Uses Spider-Man Imagery To Promote ICE Deportations
The White House once again turned to pop culture in characterizing their immigration strategy, this time using Spider Man imagery to portray ICE agents as “friendly neighborhood” figures and on the heroic side of deportations. An Instagram post this week, features Spider-Man’s hand spinning out a web. That leads to an image of web-covered detainees, and the message, “Criminal aliens will be caught and deported.” “Your friendly neighborhood ICE …
Initial plugin text On Friday (7/08), the White House posted an assembly of Spider-Man with the phrase "Foreign criminals will be caught and deported". "His agents of ICE friendly neighborhood'' says the caption of the Instagram post. Marvel had not yet spoken until the last update of this report. It is not the first time that the White House uses the figure of a superhero to propagate the rhetoric of American President Trump against migrants. I…
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