DHS Defends Social Media Post Using Song Linked to Far-Right Extremists: 'Go Outside, Touch Grass, and Get a Grip'

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is defending a video it posted on its social media feed that features imagery of federal agents arresting protesters set to a song long associated with far-right extremist movements.

The song in the video, MGMT's "Little Dark Age," was released in 2018, though it's been slowed down considerably. Gizmodo explains that while nothing in the song suggests sympathy with far-right ideology and could in fact be understood as critical of it, the song was adopted by far-right content creators in late 2020 to pair with Nazi and white supremacist imagery.

The video, posted Thursday on DHS's accounts on X, Instagram, and Bluesky, was captioned, "End of the Dark Age, beginning of the Golden Age," and included a link to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruitment page. The footage shows heavily armed agents detaining protesters in Portland, Oregon, amid smoke and flashing lights.

"The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a British think tank that tracks global extremism online, published a study in 2021 that noted how popular the song was with Nazis," explains the article from Gizmodo. A 2024 article from The Guardian also delved into the far-right's affinity with the song.

The agency dismissed criticism of the post through a statement shared with Gizmodo:

"Just because you don't like something doesn't make it Nazi propaganda—this is bottom barrel 'journalism.' MGMT's 'Little Dark Age' is wildly popular on both sides of the political spectrum. Go outside, touch grass, and get a grip"

In its statement, DHS also referenced a 2022 Spin article quoting MGMT co-founder Ben Goldwasser, who said, "a lot of times, there is no deeper meaning." The agency did not answer follow-up questions about who made or approved the video.

The controversy follows a broader pattern of criticism over DHS's use of imagery and language resembling white nationalist rhetoric in official recruitment materials. In August, a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch project found that several DHS and ICE social media posts had borrowed slogans and visuals from far-right sources, including graphics referencing the "great replacement" conspiracy theory and slogans like "defend the homeland."

At the time, DHS dismissed concerns, saying, "This administration is unapologetically proud of American history and American heritage. Get used to it."