White House under fire for using video-game footage in Iran-related war posts
The NBC News report details a controversy over videos the White House posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that use video-game footage to depict military action against Iran. In one clip, Nintendo’s Wii game footage is edited so that a game character achieves a hole-in-one or a long drive, followed by a real-world-style montage of U.S. aircraft striking Iran.
Another post, dated July 7, used footage from the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game to illustrate a war scenario in Iran, beginning with a character walking and transitioning to a scene of U.S. forces attacking vehicles, ending with the in-game “Wasted” label as a closing punchline. The posts employ rapid, cut-style edits that mix popular entertainment with real-world war imagery.
The White House has, according to NBC, published more than ten such promotional videos since the conflict began, including clips that remix scenes from Hollywood films such as Iron Man and Superman, as well as Japanese anime Yu-Gi-Oh. The assortment signals a broader strategy of leveraging viral, meme-like content to frame messaging about the war.
Reaction to the posts has been sharp within the United States. Critics argue that using war-related violence as entertainment trivializes real casualties and distress caused by the conflict. A former senior military official quoted by NBC described the videos as “absolutely disrespectful” to Iran’s civilians, to U.S. service members who have fought there, and to others connected to the fighting.
Publicly reported casualty figures in the aftermath of the conflict have been cited by human rights groups and others as a backdrop to the controversy. The groups say civilian deaths in Iran have surpassed 200, while U.S. forces have sustained injuries and fatalities as well. The article notes that the videos’ creators have not publicly addressed these casualty figures in relation to the memes.
Questions have also been raised about licensing and permission for the used media. Ben Stiller publicly called for the removal of one video, and the Yu-Gi-Oh creators stated that their work was used without authorization. The White House’s approach thus raises potential legal and ethical issues around the use of copyrighted material in government messaging.
For U.S. readers, the episode matters beyond Korea because it highlights how digital diplomacy and wartime messaging are evolving in real time. The incident touches on public perception, the boundaries of political satire, and the risk that official messaging can appear cavalier in the context of loss of life. It also underscores broader questions about how the United States communicates about overseas conflicts in an era of memes, influencer culture, and rapid social media distribution.
Context for non-Korean audiences: X is the White House’s primary platform for rapid, unofficial messaging, and the videos in question are part of the administration’s broader attempt to shape public discussion about the Iran-related conflict. The referenced games—Nintendo’s Wii, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and other pop-culture sources—are widely recognized in the United States, which may influence how U.S. audiences interpret the administration’s framing of military action and risk norms around intellectual property use in state messaging.