ICE Censors Indie Music, Not Its Own Human Rights Record
The Independent reports that ICE had to scrub MGMT’s ‘Little Dark Age’ from a social media post after the band issued a takedown request. ICE used the gloom-pop track to soundtrack a video showcasing federal agents arresting protestors outside their Portland facility ( The Independent ). Call me cynical, but an agency with a track record of family separation and child detention suddenly caring
about copyright infringement is rich. It wasn't the violent imagery of agents subduing citizens in an undeclared police action that drew the band's ire; it was the unauthorized use of their art. The media celebrates the band's principled stance against their music being used for 'propaganda,' (and rightly so), but glosses over the actual content of ICE’s 'propaganda'—federal agents deploying
against peaceful protestors. This whole episode perfectly encapsulates how we focus on the symptom (the song) while ignoring the systemic disease (government overreach and human rights abuses that MGMT's music was, ironically, perfectly suited to underscore). One might wonder if their next 'marketing' campaign will feature the real themes of 'Little Dark Age.' Perhaps The Independent will cover
that.