Hasbro has publicly disavowed a series of Department of Homeland Security social media posts that used its Transformers characters to promote immigration enforcement, becoming the latest company to issue a carefully calibrated response to the unauthorized use of its intellectual property by the federal government.
The DHS posts included an AI-generated image of Optimus Prime covered in department logos for a fictional film titled «Transformers: Age of Deportation.» Hasbro responded on Instagram by distancing itself from the posts and listing the values the character represents, including leadership and justice, in an apparent contrast to the message of the government's content.
The statement closely mirrored one issued a week earlier by the company behind Tetris. After the White House launched an online arcade featuring a Tetris knockoff called «Build the Wall,» the game's rights holders issued a near-identical disavowal, reiterating the values Tetris stands for and promising legal action. The White House has since removed the game.
The pattern reflects a broader shift in how the federal government under President Trump uses cultural products. During Trump's first term and his campaigns, his operations frequently used artists' music at rallies without permission. In the second term, however, the administration has moved beyond using unlicensed work as background and begun incorporating it directly into political messaging.
In March 2025, a Customs and Border Protection video depicting immigrants in shackles being led onto an airplane featured the band Semisonic's hit «Closing Time,» with an on-screen caption repurposing a lyric: «You don't have to go home but you can't stay here.» The band criticized the White House for missing the point of the song, and the video was quietly removed.
The DHS later expanded its use of unlicensed art to paintings. In July 2025, it posted classic Americana works by Thomas Kinkade and Morgan Weistling alongside slogans such as «Protect the Homeland.» Months later, it used work by Norman Rockwell. Unlike the Semisonic case, those posts remained online even after the artists and the estates of the deceased painters denounced the unauthorized usage.
In September 2025, a DHS video used Pokémon imagery, the franchise's theme song, and its slogan «Gotta Catch 'Em All» in reference to rounding up immigrants. The Pokémon Company objected, but its response was a standard disavowal. The contrast between a child-friendly brand and nationalist messaging gave the video a more transgressive character, described as edgelord humor from the federal government.
Companies now face a difficult calculation. Remaining silent after their intellectual property is used to advance a political agenda risks alienating consumers who oppose that agenda and may lead to boycotts. Responding too forcefully risks provoking not only a backlash from supporters of the administration but also retaliation from Trump, who has shown a willingness to use government power against perceived corporate enemies.
That dynamic may explain why Microsoft, which owns Halo maker Xbox, had «nothing to share» when the White House posted an AI image of Trump as the game's Master Chief last October. Microsoft is expanding its artificial intelligence business and has incentives to maintain a positive relationship with the administration.
Not every company has stayed silent. Canadian children's book publisher Kids Can Press spoke out after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tweeted an AI image of Franklin the Turtle, a beloved children's book character, firing a rocket launcher at drug boats. The image referenced a U.S. military campaign against vessels in the Caribbean that has killed multiple people.
The emerging corporate playbook combines a legal disavowal with a restatement of the brand's values, a formula that allows companies to distance themselves from the government's message without directly confronting the administration. For brands whose characters are beloved by children, the stakes are particularly high, as the gap between their family-friendly identities and the government's aggressive messaging creates a reputational risk that demands a response.