Steve Downes, who performs Master Chief in the Halo sequence, has demanded the White House take away his voice from a social media video he described as “disgusting and juvenile conflict porn.”
In a video revealed to the official White House X / Twitter account, now seen over 63 million occasions, Master Chief is seen and heard issuing his iconic line, “Ending this struggle.” However Halo will not be the solely world-famous mental property used in the video, which was revealed final week amid the conflict in the Center East alongside the textual content, “Justice the American means.”
Additionally included are clips of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Tom Cruise in Prime Gun, Keanu Reeves as John Wick, and many extra, all saying iconic traces of their very own. The film clips are spliced with conflict footage exhibiting explosions.
JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥 pic.twitter.com/0502N6a3rL
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 6, 2026
Downes, who has expressed concern about the unauthorized use of his voice in the previous, took to X / Twitter to issue a statement confirming the White House didn’t acquire his permission for this new video, and demanding he be faraway from it.
“It has come to my consideration that there’s at least one propaganda video circulating that was both produced or at the very least endorsed by the White House that makes use of photographs of Master Chief and makes use of my voice to assist the conflict in Iran,” he stated.
“Let me make this crystal clear: I didn’t take part in nor was I consulted, nor do I endorse the use of my voice in this video, or the message it conveys.
“I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile conflict porn take away my voice instantly.”
That is simply the newest instance of the White House utilizing standard IP for its social media posts. And this isn’t even the first time the Trump administration has used Halo, owned by Microsoft, to advertise its actions. In October, Microsoft remained silent after Donald Trump launched an AI picture of the U.S. president as Master Chief and the Division of Homeland Safety used Halo to advertise ICE on social media. IGN has requested Microsoft for touch upon this newest video.
Final week, the White House posted a video on social media that blended footage from its bombing operations in Iran with Name of Responsibility gameplay. IGN has requested Activision for remark, however it has but to reply.
Additionally final week, The Pokémon Firm issued an official objection after the White House used the just lately launched spinoff Pokopia for a meme, pushing again in opposition to the Trump administration’s repeated use of its mental property on social media.
As identified by The New York Times, Trump administration spokesperson Abigail Jackson has beforehand commented to double down on their social media technique. “By way of partaking posts and banger memes, we’re efficiently speaking the president’s extraordinarily standard agenda,” Jackson stated. “There’s a motive so many individuals attempt to copy our type — our message resonates.”
In January, Downes stated misleading AI reproductions of his voice “cross a line that will get into an space I’m uncomfortable with” — and he known as on it to cease. “One of the issues that may be overwhelming in the case of consideration from followers is when AI will get concerned,” he stated. “Lots of it’s innocent I suppose, however some of it can’t be innocent. I have been very vocal about my emotions about the use of synthetic intelligence, which on the one hand is inevitable and has many optimistic results on not solely present enterprise however humanity in basic, however it can be a detriment. It can be one thing that deprives the actor of his work.
“I’ve heard some issues on-line in phrases of AI and the copy of my voice that seems like my voice that… like I stated, most of the stuff I’ve seen is fairly innocent, however it may be not that means actual fast. So, I am not a proponent. I do not prefer it. I would like that it not be achieved.
“There’s quite a bit of fan-made initiatives on the market which might be actually cool, which might be achieved simply from the coronary heart. However once you get to the AI half and deceiving any individual into considering, in my case, that these are traces that I really spoke once they’re not, that is once we cross a line that will get into an space that I’m uncomfortable with. I will go on the file with that.”
Photograph by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Pictures.
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You’ll be able to attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.