Featured Image Credit: White House/X
Topics: Travel, US News, Viral, Donald Trump
Brenna Cooper
The US government is facing backlash after posting a disturbing deportation video featuring a viral TikTok audio.
Anyone whose ventured onto TikTok, Instagram reels or YouTube shorts in the past couple of weeks will likely be familiar with the phrase 'Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday' soundbite, which plays over a snippet of Jess Glynne's song 'Hold My Hand'.
Taken from an advert promoting a discount on family holidays in December 2022, the viral audio has proved to be a rather unconventional marketing bonus for the budget airline as content creators repurpose the sound for videos depicting various shenanigans and travel fails.
However, the lighthearted and silly meme has now become a victim of its own success, with the White House jumping on the bandwagon and using the audio for a video showing passengers being loaded onto a deportation flight.
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In the video, which had been shared by the White House's official X account, numerous unidentified men can be seen in handcuffs and ankle shackles being loaded onto a flight by armed officers.
The video then cuts to a separate clip of President Donald Trump pointing at the camera and giving a thumbs-up.
"When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation," reads the caption. "Nothing beats it!."
Which is probably not what Jet2 had in mind when they created the harmless advert nearly three years ago.
Viewers were understandably shocked by the US government taking such a flippant approach to such a serious topic - we can only assume the White House has hired a bunch of Gen Z employees to repackage their policies in short-form video format - and were quick to share their criticisms on social media.
"Disgusting," wrote one user in the comments, while others questioned whether or not the US government would face backlash from Jet2 for associating their brand with such a controversial policy.
"Sorry but social media has ruined politics. Is anything serious anymore? This is vile. These are people," penned a second person, while a third added: "I appear to have woken up in a Black Mirror episode."
Not even fans of Trump or the Republican party were on board with the move, with one person responding: "Even as a Trump supporter, that was on the cringe side."
The controversial post comes just months after unrest broke out on the streets of Los Angeles in response to US Immigration and Customs (ICE) conducted a series of raids across the city in search of undocumented migrants – prompting fierce backlash from residents.
Jet2 has since revealed they are 'disappointed' by the post, telling LADbible: "Our branding has become something of a viral phenomenon this summer and we are pleased to see how many people have used it in good humour. This has put a smile on many people’s faces, just like our holidays do. We are of course aware of a post from the White House social media account."
The statement continued: "This is not endorsed by us in any way, and we are very disappointed to see our brand being used to promote Government policy such as this."