Pokémon Says It Did Not Authorize Use in Recent ICE Deportation Promo

The Pokemon Company has responded to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) video released on Monday featuring the Pokemon theme song and some visuals in deportation promotional videos.

The Details: The video–captioned “Gotta Catch ‘Em All–was set to the original Pokémon anime’s theme song, and featured Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) making multiple arrests. It also used interstitial cuts of the show, and displayed mock-ups of trading cards for several arrested individuals. It has received 37 million views. The company responded in a statement saying, “Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”

For Context: On Wednesday, podcaster and comedian, Theo Von, called out DHS for using a viral clip from his podcast, saying, “Heard you got deported, dude, bye!” The video included footage of ICE making an arrest and parts of President Donald Trump's address to the United Nations this week. In a now deleted posted, Von responded on X saying, “Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this…And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos.” DHS has taken down the video.

How the Media Covered It: Many outlets on the right covered the initial release of the Pokemon-themed video, but not the company’s response. Fox News (Right bias) mentioned the viewer count, and highlighted the criminal backgrounds of some of those featured on the trading cards. Washington Examiner (Lean Right) said the video was the latest social media strategy by the Trump administration and DHS to reach younger audiences. Axios (Lean Left) mentioned both Pokemon and Von’s responses, and said the DHS’s usage of memes and internet culture has “drawn criticism from rights holders and advocates.”

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