Steve Downes, the voice actor for Halo’s Master Chief, has publicly called on the White House to remove his voice from a recently uploaded video on X, titled “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.”
The video, uploaded to The White House X account on March 6, is a 42-second propaganda piece aimed at ginning up enthusiasm for the United States and Israel’s war on Iran. That war, initiated on February 28, has killed over 1,300 civilians so far, per Iranian reports, including a strike on a school which reportedly killed over 100 children. The United States has blamed Iran for that strike; analysis by the NYT suggests it was hit by US bombs as part of a “precision strike” on a nearby naval base.
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At the time of writing, the original video remains live on The White House’s X page. This is not the first time the Trump administration has raised the ire of performers whose images and voices it has instrumentalised for propaganda. Last year, Sabrina Carpenter lashed out when the same account posted a video using one of her songs atop footage of ICE raids. “This video is evil and disgusting,” tweeted Carpenter in response. “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.” That video has since been deleted.
The White House account, which frequently tweets content that has been criticised for containing nods to white supremacist and neo-Nazi subculture, regularly deploys videogames alongside other popular culture in its propaganda. Its most recent boast regarding the war in Iran contained repeated use of the now-memetic GTA: San Andreas “Ah shit, here we go again,” clip. It is rare if not unheard of for the actual copyright holders of these works to oppose this kind of use by the state. Instead, it falls on performers like Downes.
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