The videos follow a broader trend in the Trump administration's social media strategy, which increasingly uses artificial intelligence, pop culture and at times sarcasm to promote Trump's policy priorities and slam his political opponents.
But those memes, which splice together popular kids' shows or video games with actual footage of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign in Iran, are drawing backlash from lawmakers and experts, who say they go too far in blurring the line between unserious fiction and the realities of war.
"It takes a really complicated and important situation — armed conflict — and boils it down to a little cartoon image," Peter Loge, a political scientist at the George Washington University. "By making war like a game or cartoon, that removes the reality of war from people's minds."
The videos, ranging from five to 50 seconds long, began days into the conflict with Iran and have continued as the war approaches the two-week mark. Seven U.S. service members have died from Iranian attacks since military operations began, and the Pentagon estimated about 140 other members have been injured as of Tuesday.
In one video posted Thursday, the White House spliced together clips from the animated "Wii Sports" game theme with videos of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. At one point, an animated baseball player is shown at bat ahead of actual footage of a strike in Iran as a Wii narrator says "out of the park."
It followed a post on Wednesday showing a former professional bowing player throwing a "strike" at bowling pins labeled "Iranian regime officials," amid cheering crowds.
The social media posts came as the Trump administration struggled to have consistent messaging on the justification of the Iran war and how long the conflict could last. U.S. military forces have also utilized social media to provide daily updates on the ongoing operations.
Loge, the director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at George Washington, compared the approach to professional wrestling, where "the point is the spectacle."
Read more in a full report this weekend at TheHill.com
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