White House Slammed for Using Unreleased Boards of Canada Track in Promo Video

On May 28, the White House—under the Trump administration—shared a 15-second promotional video on social media platform X. The background music featured an unreleased track titled "Deep Time" by the electronic music duo Boards of Canada. The track was set to appear on the duo’s upcoming album Inferno, which was scheduled for release on May 29. While the White House account used the atmospheric piece to complement its messaging, the move immediately sparked major backlash.

Shortly after the video was posted, the comments section was flooded with angry Boards of Canada fans. Many users accused the White House of using the duo’s music for what they called "authoritarian fascist garbage propaganda" and "fake patriotic edits." One user even described President Trump as "running a Michael Bay fan account and posting a movie trailer for World War III." Others questioned the legal legitimacy of using the music without permission from the rights holders, suggesting it could constitute copyright infringement.

In response to the incident, Warp Records, the label representing Boards of Canada, issued a statement to Resident Advisor making clear: "The label and Boards of Canada do not endorse the unauthorized use of their music for political propaganda." As of now, the White House has not publicly commented on the matter. The controversy once again highlights the licensing and ethical challenges public institutions face when using copyrighted music in promotional materials—especially in an era of sharp political division, where musicians are increasingly dragged into disputes they never asked for.