White House Mixes Iran Airstrike Footage with Video Game Clips

The White House published several social-media video montages that intermix footage of U.S. airstrikes in Iran with clips from video games, movies, cartoons and sports, a set of posts that critics say turns real warfare into entertainment. One minute-long montage begins with an animated scene from Call of Duty before cutting to what ABC News identified as unclassified footage of strikes in Iran; another clips from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, including the line "Ah [expletive], here we go again," before jumping to a strike on what appears to be a box truck and superimposing the word "wasted."

Captions and overlays amplified the effect. A Thursday-night post displayed the words "JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY" alongside an American flag and a fire emoji. One montage ends with a voiceover saying "flawless victory," audio outlets identified as coming from a video game spelled in coverage as "Moral Kombat." Another short video pairs strikes with background lyrics that go "kaboom, kablow," and a SpongeBob SquarePants clip asking "do you want to see me do it again?" plays just before another strike sequence. The White House captions also laid out the administration’s stated goals for "Operation Epic Fury," listing "Destroy Iran's missile arsenal," "Destroy their navy," and "Ensure they NEVER get a nuclear weapon," and adding "Locked in."

The posts arrived amid active U.S. military operations in Iran and a widening regional conflict. U.S. Central Command, as cited in reporting, provided a partially redacted image showing a complex in Iran struck by missiles on March 1, 2026, and stated that the United States has carried out 3,000 airstrikes since operations began. Coverage noted that hundreds have died in the conflict, that six American service members have been killed, and that the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. President Donald Trump has said the conflict could last for weeks.

Criticism was immediate and pointed. Ben Stiller posted on X, "Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip," adding, "We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie." On CNN’s Inside Politics panel, David Sanger warned the montage "takes real footage and basically suggests that this is a game. There is nothing more serious that states do, than use force, and particularly in urban areas where civilians are going to die." Reporting also flagged outrage over the timing of the posts, days after an airstrike that killed children in Iran.

The montages used a broad grab bag of media: Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, SpongeBob SquarePants, Top Gun, Braveheart, Tropic Thunder, Transformers and MLB and NFL highlight footage. The leagues have not commented on whether their highlights were used with permission. France24 noted a clip of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth saying "F-A" cut to a Transformers autobot saying "time to find out," and explained the administration-phrased "F-A-F-O" as "Fuck around and find out."

Gamers and media-rights holders will be watching whether the White House alters or removes the posts and whether studios, publishers or sports leagues press takedowns or demand explanations for the use of their clips alongside footage of live strikes. The broader question now is institutional: how government messaging will reconcile the use of entertainment imagery with the reality of ongoing military operations that reporting shows have already cost hundreds of lives.