DHS Takes Down Video Featuring Theo Von After Von Demands Its Removal
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken down a propaganda video featuring podcaster Theo Von after he demanded that it be removed.
The video included a clip of Von saying, “Heard you got deported, dude, bye!”
“Yooo DHS i didnt [sic] approve to be used in this,” Von posted on X.
“I know you know my address so send a check,” Von added. “And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos,” he said. “When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are a lot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!”
It appears Von’s post has been removed.
The podcaster attended Trump’s inauguration, although he has been critical of some of the president’s actions.
The Trump administration has used numerous clips, songs, and images from popular culture to promote its fascist, anti-immigrant agenda.
On September 22, DHS posted a video featuring the popular Pokémon theme song, “Gotta Catch ‘Em All,” over clips from the cartoon and videos of federal officers abducting people. In one clip, numerous people are sitting on a field, their hands zip tied behind them. “Department of Homeland Security” is written in the distinctive Pokémon font when the video opens. The video ends with mock Pokemon cards featuring the photos of those they arrested.
When asked if it planned to sue, the Pokémon Company International told NBC News, “We don’t have anything to share at this time.”
“We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand,” the company said in a statement to the BBC. “Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
As of September 25, the video remained on DHS’s X account, and the “Pokemon cards” remained on DHS’s Instagram page.
Fans have called on the notoriously litigious Nintendo, which owns Pokémon Company International, to sue.
“We need to channel all of the world’s energy into @NintendoAmerica and @Pokemon to sue the FUCKING SHIT out of Homeland Security for unauthorized visual representation!” one person posted on X. Another person wrote, “@NintendoAmerica please use your suing powers for good, just this once.”
This month, U.S. Border Patrol and the San Diego Border Patrol sector posted a video of a mock opening credits scene from the television show, “Miami Vice,” starring “U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector.”
The San Diego account also posted a video featuring a doctored clip from the animated television show, “Family Guy.” One of the show’s characters, Peter Griffin, walks to the window and turns on the light. He sees an image, which is not animated, of a Border Patrol car parked in front of what appears to be the wall along the United States/Mexico border.
“Good,” he says.
At the top of the video it says, “How it feels going to bed knowing the BORDER is secure.”
“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane has been an outspoken critic of Trump, but the administration has frequently used work by creators who detest him in their social media posts. Earlier this year, Trump administration accounts posted videos using music by Jack White, who has called Trump a “fascist,” and the late Nipsey Hussle, author of “Fuck Donald Trump.”
Other propaganda videos posted by the Trump administration feature music by the Black Eyed Peas and the Beastie Boys.
In August, the White House and Border Patrol posted a video featuring Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It?” playing over clips of construction on the border wall.
Audio from what appears to be a Trump speech is spliced into the video.
“I said we got to build a wall,” he says. “Everyone said that’s crazy, that’s crazy. We will build a wall.”
That same month, 404 Media reported that a propaganda video posted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) featuring Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement,” was taken down after the agency received a copyright takedown notice. However, a video featuring Jay Z’s “Show Me What You Got” is posted to Border Patrol’s account as of September 25. The song plays over a montage of Border Patrol pick-up trucks.