White House Sparks Outrage With Ghibli-Style Post Of Sobbing Criminal

The White House is being criticised after it posted a Ghibli-inspired picture of an illegal migrant and convicted fentanyl dealer sobbing when she was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers earlier this month. The image, posted on the White House's official X (formerly Twitter) account, highlighted the March 12 arrest of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez.

Social media is currently flooded with people using OpenAI's ChatGPT to turn any image into an illustration style, popularised by Japanese animation powerhouse, Studio Ghibli. Big brands, influencers and politicians have also hopped on the trend but the White House posting the picture of Basora-Gonzalez has invited sharp reactions from users.

"We're living in levels of dystopia so deep that black mirror couldn't even prophesise, parody or emulate it," said one user while another added: "This is horrible leadership. I'm on board with strict borders. But mocking them? This is embarrassing and shameful."

A third commented: "I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat or if you oppose immigration or support it, this is not the behaviour of responsible adults who are charged with the nation's wellbeing."

One of the users mentioned that Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki would not have appreciated his art style being used by US institutions. Notably, Mr Miyazaki did not attend the 75th Oscars in 2003 when Spirited Away won the prestigious award as he did not want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq.

The viral trend has also led to ethical concerns about AI tools trained over copyrighted creative works. OpenAI has encouraged the 'Ghiblification' experiments on the internet, with its CEO Sam Altman changing his X profile picture into a Ghibli-style portrait.

https://t.co/PVdINmsHXs pic.twitter.com/Bw5YUCI2xL — The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 27, 2025

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Who is the woman?

The woman in the AI illustration is believed to be Virginia Basora-Gonzale, who had been deported from the US after being convicted of fentanyl trafficking. Afterwards, she was arrested in Philadelphia by ICE for allegedly attempting to reenter the US.

"The apprehension of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez demonstrates our commitment to protecting our communities from criminal aliens who engage in serious illegal activities that pose a threat to public safety," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia acting Field Office Director Brian McShane.