White House releases contested 'arcade' games promoting Trump policies
The White House has published a set of simple online games modeled on popular video games to promote Trump administration policies, including border security. At least one game developer, the Tetris Company, has distanced itself from the project.
The White House has released a series of browser-based games designed to promote Donald Trump's policy agenda, but several have drawn criticism for racially charged content and possible copyright issues.
One game, "Build the Wall," closely resembles the classic puzzle game Tetris. Players must arrange interlocking shapes to stop a "zombie border siege" at the southern border, while figures labeled "aliens" — the administration's preferred term for noncitizens — run across the screen.
Tetris Company spokesperson Kerri Brusca told The Verge that the company had no involvement in creating the game and is currently reviewing the matter. Other brands referenced in the games, including Sega, Nintendo, Xbox, and the makers of Flappy Bird, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Other games include "Rio Run," featuring a Border Patrol agent character who collects migrants as he moves across the screen, "Flappy Bill," in which a bald eagle must deliver a piece of legislation to the National Mall, and "Supply Line," where players knock processed foods off a conveyor belt before they reach schoolchildren.
Observers have pointed to contradictions between the games' messaging and actual policy outcomes. Efforts to build a border wall through protected land in Texas, for example, have faced pushback even from Republicans in the state, while rollbacks of endangered species protections threaten the very bald eagles featured in one of the games. This is not the first time the administration has run into copyright trouble — the Department of Homeland Security previously had to remove certain social media posts after receiving DMCA takedown notices.
