In a plot twist that sounds like bad fan editing, the White House’s official X account posted a pop-culture montage that included footage from the Yu-Gi-Oh anime. The anime's official account quickly stepped in to say they had nothing to do with it.

What happened

On March 5 the White House uploaded a short video captioned JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. It mashed together clips from a handful of well-known franchises and played them to the unmistakable Mortal Kombat theme.

Some of the clips included

  • Breaking Bad
  • Halo
  • Transformers
  • Deadpool
  • Dragon Ball Super
  • Star Wars
  • Yu-Gi-Oh

The White House has leaned into meme culture in recent months, sharing montage-style videos and gaming-adjacent edits. That playful approach is fun until someone’s copyright alarm goes off.

Yu-Gi-Oh says the footage was used without permission

On March 11 the official Yu-Gi-Oh anime account posted a statement noting that footage from the series appeared in the White House video. The statement said the clips were used without authorization from the rights holder and that no one connected to the manga or anime was involved or had given permission for the use of the intellectual property.

It is not yet clear whether Konami, which owns the digital media rights for Yu-Gi-Oh, will pursue legal action.

Others also pushed back

The voice actor for Master Chief, Steve Downes, publicly stated that he did not participate in or approve the use of his voice for the montage and that he does not endorse the message it conveyed.

The Pokémon Company also issued a rebuttal after the government account posted an image combining a slogan with a Pokémon-related logo. The company said it was not involved in creating or distributing the image, no permission was granted, and that their mission to bring people together is not aligned with any political viewpoint.

Why this matters

Using copyrighted material without permission can create legal headaches and PR problems. Brands and creators often want control over how their work is presented, especially in political contexts. The current situation highlights the tension between social-media-savvy public accounts and the intellectual property rules that still apply online.

For now, the White House clip remains a reminder that meme energy is contagious, but so is the need to ask first. Studios, voice actors, and IP owners are watching, and they are not shy about saying when they were not consulted.