Editorial | White House accounts are masterclass in propaganda

“ASMR deportation Instagram reel.” Say that out loud. Say it slowly. Say it with a smile on your face.

You can’t.

Within the first month of Donald Trump’s presidency, the White House Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, accounts have posted various demeaning, contemptuous reels and images. On Feb. 18, however, the accounts posted, arguably, the most shocking content yet. The video, captioned “#ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight,” shows officers shackling immigrants’ hands and legs, lining them up, and escorting them on a deportation flight.

“To be soothed or entertained by the suffering of others speaks to the depth of your depravity,” Instagram user @king_nk commented. And he couldn’t be more right. ASMR — a genre of sensory experience typically used to promote relaxation through sound — when paired with the trauma of human suffering, is deeply disturbing. Typically more popular with younger generations, ASMR might appeal to this demographic. It’s dehumanizing, and coming from an institution of such prestige and power, it is especially unsettling.

This is the White House, the symbolic heart of the U.S. government — a heart that is using a powerful communication tool to manipulate and exploit suffering for entertainment. Media of this manner desensitizes the public to violence against marginalized groups for mere entertainment and shock value.

“With our country being as polarized as it is, people are losing faith in institutions that once held prestige — the White House at the center,” Brett Johnson, associate professor in the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said. “We now live in a world where a government office has no political repression or boundaries on what they share.”

Yet, for the White House, social media isn’t the end. The official government website for the White House has further tainted its name. One article published states, “The Fake News losers at CNN immediately tried to fact check it, but President Trump was right (as usual).” The only word we can use to describe this sort of language is childish. Days after Trump’s re-election, the Spanish version of the White House website was taken down.

Even in a society with free speech in the media, there must be a line. If we, as American citizens, demand a higher standard from journalists in sharing information, why shouldn’t one of the most powerful platforms of the nation act with the same integrity?

A problematic post should not be left unchecked, yet it will be on Instagram and X. With both Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk cooperating with Trump, these posts will further the inhumane rhetoric of the administration.

Since the start of Trump’s presidency, many users of Meta and X have reported censored material on their devices. The fact these tech moguls have close ties with Trump, or have publicly supported him, suggests certain types of content might be less likely to be moderated, even if that content is misleading. They are now the ones who decide what is worth censoring and what is dehumanizing, even if it is just their bias.

Despite these concerns, in his congressional address, Trump proclaimed, “And I have stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America, it’s back.” For a president signing legislation akin to censorship, denying oppositional media press access, and threatening to imprison protesters, the hypocrisy is undeniable. Free speech is now weaponized to silence dissenting opinions.

Less than 24 hours later, Instagram users were shocked by yet another post from the same account. “Long Live The King,” it said, with an illustration of Trump as a monarch.

For a country that was built on the rejection of monarchy and belief in popular sovereignty in its Constitution, depicting the president as a king is troubling. Frankly, it undermines the foundations of the U.S. At Trump’s joint congressional address, his power over his supporters was apparent — and truthfully, almost king-like. With almost everything he said, the Republican delegation roared with applause and standing ovations.

This type of rhetoric doesn’t belong in a free society and is, ultimately, propaganda. We look to the president of the U.S. for leadership, not dominion, because we are a democracy. As of 2022, 64 percent of Americans viewed social media as a “bad thing” for democracy.

And so, when a platform uses its influence to spread propaganda that villianizes people of other races, we must take another look — especially into world history.

During both World War I and World War II, the U.S. government employed propaganda to rally support for military efforts. The term propaganda took on a less neutral tone in the early 20th century when information being disseminated began manipulating people’s outlooks on war and “the enemy.”

War advertising in the U.S. and France, often published by the press, aimed to demoralize German troops, associating them with images of “barbarians” and making Allied powers out to be heroes. This same concept later applied to World War II when Nazis distributed material that portrayed Jewish individuals as “vermin.” This material ranged across mediums including posters, movies, and sculptures.

By dehumanizing the Jewish population, the Nazis were able to brainwash citizens into believing they were cleansing the world with genocide.

But we aren’t in the 20th century anymore. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize similarities between such propaganda and the White House’s social media posts related to immigration as of late. It seems as if the recent posts are to distract us from the policy enactments across the nation. For a generation that has grown up historically informed, we cannot be provoked by the powerful.

The “#ASMR: Illegal Deportation Flight,” treats immigrants as if they are not humans with feelings and instead uses them for the warped entertainment of audiences.

The social media of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, furthers this rhetoric by reporting daily updates on the numbers of immigrants detained and arrests of  “The Worst First.” These immigrants are individuals who are suspected of committing violent crimes.

All of these posts share one thing important in common: They never refer to these individuals as people. They are “criminals,” “detainers,” “illegal aliens,” the “worst.”

“The last thing anyone who is hawkish about immigration wants to do is put a human face on an immigrant,” Johnson said. “We even see this when people use natural terms like a ‘flood’ or a ‘wave’ of immigrants. It just conjures an impersonal stance, making it easier for these policies to be enacted.”

Language is a tool that sets boundaries — or in this case, removes them. Videos, tweets, and posts are all decentralized forms of communication that can impact political and social views. With over 8 million followers on Instagram, the White House account has the same influence.

As a country previously nicknamed the “Melting Pot” and a “tossed salad” for its welcoming nature to diversity, referred to as a nation built by immigrants, America has changed. With ICE around the corner nearly everywhere and with the biggest platforms like Instagram and X spewing propaganda against them, immigrants are not safe in the U.S.

So, we must stay vigilant. When traditional media like broadcast, newspaper, and radio, dominated our public discourse, it was easy to spread a broad message. Now, with social media, people can micro-target these messages, making them harder to fact-check because of the lack of eyes on them before publication.

But we must fact-check. Being literate in the media is vital to avoiding misinformation and irresponsible content.

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