Yu-Gi-Oh! Objects to White House Video Use

The official Yu-Gi-Oh! anime account on X, formerly Twitter, issued a statement on March 11, 2026, objecting to the White House's unauthorized use of its intellectual property in a pro-war social media video. The White House X account posted the video on March 6, featuring a clip of Yu-Gi-Oh! character Yugi Muto around the 37-second mark, alongside other copyrighted material.

Konami, the rights holder for Yu-Gi-Oh!, stated that no permission was granted for the footage's use and that no one associated with the manga or anime was involved in its creation. The White House video, captioned "Justice the American Way," had garnered over 64 million views by March 11.

This incident follows similar objections from other intellectual property owners, including Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes, who condemned the use of his voice in the same video earlier in the week. The Pokémon Company also issued an objection in March after the White House used Pokémon imagery in a political meme.

These instances indicate a pattern of the White House utilizing popular culture references in its social media communications without explicit authorization from rights holders. The video in question also incorporated clips from films like *Braveheart* and *Top Gun*, interspersed with war footage.