ICE ads are streaming near you. So is the online rebellion

There you are, sitting in your car in traffic, listening to Taylor Swift on Spotify because it’s easier than exposing yourself to a new, more challenging artist. An ad appears in your stream. The narrator’s dystopian tone proves this: “Join the mission to protect America,” the serious man’s voice commands, “with bonuses of up to $50,000 and generous benefits. Apply now… and fulfill your mission.”

This is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruitment posting that is part of the Trump administration. 30 billion dollar investment adding more than 10,000 deportation officers to its ranks by the end of the year. You’d be spared this outrage if you paid for Spotify’s ad-free level of service, but there’s no way the audio streamer is taking your money right now. Let’s say you’re going to switch to Apple Music. Maybe Tidal?

exposure experience recruitment postings A local military force put together by a power-hungry president intense reaction This week reached its peak with calls boycotts Streaming services and platforms featuring ICE spots. They include Pandora, ESPN, YouTube, Hulu and Fubo TV. Multiple HBO Max subscribers was complaining about x They were exposed to ICE recruitment videos while watching All Elite Wrestling: “It’s time to be fed two hours of ICE ads against my will again #WWENXT.” @YKWrestling wrote.

Recruitment ads — Uncle Sam’s “I Want You” poster comes to mind — are an American staple, especially in wartime. But the current recruiting effort aims to send forces into American cities based on exaggerated claims that U.S. metropolitan areas are under siege and in danger from dangerous illegal immigrants, left-wing protesters and out-of-control crime rates. Databut does not support these claims. American Immigration Council It found that while the immigrant share of the U.S. population more than doubled from 1980 to 2022 (from 6.2% to 13.9%), the total crime rate also decreased by more than 60%.

But if ICE’s recruitment efforts are successful, there’s a far more dire apocalypse on the horizon: an army of mercenaries loyal only to Trump, armed to keep him on the throne. If this sounds more dystopian than the Spotify ad mentioned above, consider that management is spending more than 100 percent. $6.5 million A series of 30-second ads aimed to attract police officers were released last month.

The ads aired on television in more than a dozen cities, including Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta, and opened with images of each metropolitan area’s skyline. Then came a commanding narrative: “Attention Miami law enforcement!” This is followed by the same message used in ICE ads across the country: “You swore an oath to protect and serve your family, your city. But in sanctuary cities, you are ordered to stand down while dangerous illegals roam free — join ICE and help us catch the worst of the worst. Drug traffickers. Gang members. Predators.”

So do ads work? It’s hard to tell, since transparency is not a hallmark of the MAGA White House. Regardless, DHS’s September 16 press release claimed that it had received more than 150,000 applications and extended 18,000 temporary job offers in response to its campaign.

When it comes to the power of consumer-led boycotts, there is hope. More than 1.7 million Disney, Hulu and ESPN subscriptions reported to be canceled Between September 17 and September 23, during Jimmy Kimmel’s temporary suspension by ABC (Disney is ABC’s parent company). The network pulled the show after the host’s comments about the Charlie Kirk assassination angered MAGA supporters and the Trump-appointed FCC chairman appeared to threaten the network. But after a week with a significant increase in cancellations (a 436% increase over the normal week), Kimmel is back on the air.

As of today, Spotify appears unaffected by the pressure to remove these intrusive ICE ads. “This ad is part of a broad campaign by the US government across television, streaming and online channels,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement this week. “It does not violate our content laws advertising policies. However, users can thumbs up or thumbs down any ad to help manage their ad preferences.”

Thumbs down. Frowning emoji. Cue the dystopian narrator for the counter-ad: “Join the mission to protect America: Cancel Spotify.”