The White House is facing a wave of criticism after posting videos on social network X about the Iran airstrike campaign, which use images from Japanese video games and famous manga (comics).
According to the released videos, images from the bowling game in Nintendo's Wii Sports game and elements from the manga Yu-Gi-Oh! (Game King) were incorporated into bomb dropping and combat scenes.
One of the 52-second videos, titled "Epic Fury" - described as the name of the military campaign - was posted on March 12. In the clip, the scene of the bomb falling is combined with a bowling image in Wii Sports, with the word "Strike". In another scene, the bombing image is combined with a golfing scene, showing the words "Hole in one".
Previously, on March 5, another video was also posted, combining images from Yu-Gi-Oh! with airstrike scenes.
After the video spread, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s official account on social networks spoke out, confirming that those involved in the comic book and animated projects were not involved in the production of the White House's video.
The announcement also emphasized that intellectual property related to this manga is not licensed for the White House to use.
The integration of entertainment images into war content has caused many social media users and media experts to react strongly, saying that this way of expressing is disrespectful to the victims of conflict.
Controversy is escalating as recent airstrikes in Iran have caused heavy casualties.
A bombing targeting a primary school for girls in Iran - believed to be carried out by US forces - has killed about 170 students, according to sources quoted by international media.
A former senior US government official told the press that such communication shows that President Donald Trump's administration is "treating war like a game".
According to this person, the use of images from video games and manga in the context of real attacks causing death is a "very careless" attitude towards both soldiers and civilian casualties.
The incident is continuing to cause controversy on social networks, as many people question whether the use of popular culture to illustrate war is exceeding the limits of ethics and communication.
