Viral AI video on Instagram and Facebook depicts fantastical confrontation with ICE agents
Release date: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 7:53 PM UTC |Updated date: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 10:46 PM (UTC)
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AI-generated anti-ICE videos are going viral on Instagram and Facebook, with one creator posting more than 1,000 clips of people in color registration agents, with one video reaching 11 million views in 72 hours.
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The trend exploded after ICE killed two unarmed Americans in January, including nurse Alex Preti and her mother Renee Nicole Goode, according to Wired
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Researchers warn that the flood of fake videos could backfire by making people distrust real footage – commentators have already falsely accused Pretti’s real video of being generated by AI
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This trend reflects the Trump administration’s own AI operations, such as the White House posting a doctored photo of civil rights attorney Nekima Levi Armstrong.
A wave of AI-generated videos depicting people of color confronting ICE agents have flooded Metaplatform, racking up millions of views and sparking debate about the line between political catharsis and dangerous misinformation. Videos showing everything from baseball bat-wielding school principals to drag queens chasing police officers have exploded since Jan. 7, when ICE killed unarmed mother Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Experts are now warning that fantasy content could undermine the credibility of real video evidence at a time when documenting federal government overreach is most important.
A school principal looks defiant, bat in hand, blocking masked ICE agents from entering a New York City school. “Let me tell you why they call me Batgirl,” she declares, as onlookers cheer. This conflict feels visceral, empowering, and completely fabricated. This is one of the thousands of AI-generated anti-ICE videos flooding the meta platform, creating an alternate reality where resistance doesn’t end in bloodshed.
Digital counter-narratives have erupted on Instagram and Facebook since January 7, when ICE killed Renee Nicole Good, an unarmed 37-year-old mother of three, who was gunned down in federally occupied Minneapolis. These videos imagine a world where responsibility exists and people resist without paying the ultimate price. According to an investigation by Wired, one account named Mike Wayne alone has uploaded more than 1,000 such clips.
The content appears to be political fan fiction. A worker at a Chinese restaurant is throwing hot noodles at the staff. The priest closed the church door and declared that he worshiped a God of love, not an “orange God.” Four drag queens wearing neon wigs chase an agent through the streets of St. Paul. One of Wayne’s most surreal works, an ICE officer brawling with a white reckless driver at a sporting event, received 11 million views in less than 72 hours. “Fascism is overthrown,” someone shouts in the background.
Willonius Hatcher, a filmmaker who has studied AI as a tool for marginalized creators, says these videos tap into something deeper than virality. “Oppressed people have always built what they can’t find,” Hatcher told Wired. “These videos are not delusions; they are a diagnosis. People will not dream of fighting back so loudly unless they learn that the systems that are supposed to protect them are not.”
But catharsis has consequences. Nicholas Arter, founder of AI creative consultancy AI for the Culture, said that while some creators are expressing genuine resistance, others are “leaning toward controversial or emotional content in pursuit of virality and monetization.” As engagement metrics drive content creation, the line between political expression and exploitation rapidly blurs.
Timing couldn’t be more difficult. In addition to Goode’s killing, ICE also shot and killed 37-year-old Veterans Affairs ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who was recording her cell phone recording of the agent’s shooting. Video evidence was essential to dispelling the government’s false reporting of both deaths. Ms Good’s partner had captured the footage seconds before she was killed. Federal agents have repeatedly harassed protesters simply for documenting their actions.
Joshua Tucker, co-director of the Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics at New York University, sees the flood of AI videos as a dual strategy to “add more anti-ICE content to social media and potentially make popular anti-ICE content go viral.” But he worries about collateral damage. “The fear is that this will lead to a general perception that once you see a video, you can’t trust it anymore,” Tucker explained, “making it harder to convince people that something that is actually real is actually real.”
Those concerns became reality on Wednesday when News Movement published authentic footage of Pretti confronting ICE agents on Jan. 13, more than a week before his death. Commenters on Instagram and YouTube were quick to slam it as being generated by AI. Preeti’s family had to confirm to the New York Times that the video was genuine.
Loss of trust cuts both ways. The Trump administration has weaponized AI manipulation for political gain. Last week, the White House posted a doctored photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer who was arrested during a peaceful protest, and labeled her a “far-left agitator.” When both resistance movements and government agencies introduce AI distortions, objective reality is sacrificed.
This number speaks to the rapid colonization of AI in online discourse. A 2024 Graphite study found that over 50 percent of new web articles are generated by AI. Meanwhile, Survey Monkey analysis shows that 73 percent of marketers are using AI for personalized content. As resistance movements leverage digital channels to organize and document government overreach, AI will become inevitable both as a tool and as a weapon.
Arter believes there are other dangers in anti-ICE content. Most videos depict people of color confronting authority. At a time when protesters are being labeled “domestic terrorists” by the state, these AI creations could further justify crackdowns. “That confusion can cause individuals to feel justified in acting on stories that are not grounded in reality,” Arter warns. “The real danger lies not only in the content itself, but in how it is interpreted and acted upon.”
Hatcher puts it more bluntly: “America has always been intent on punishing dreamers rather than confronting the conditions that made dreaming necessary. These videos will serve as a pretext, not because they justify force, but because justification was never the goal. Permission is what matters, and this country has always been generous in granting permission when the target is appropriate.”
Mike Wayne’s account, which has declined multiple interview requests, continues to send out content daily. Some clips show ICE agents taking dangerous walks. There is also a scene of a Latina woman slapping a police officer. A recent video shows a priest physically pushing masked officials away. What is the reality? Federal agents arrested about 100 clergy during protests at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport last week, and faith leaders estimate 2,000 have been deported.
You can feel the tension in the comments section below the video. “This is fake. ICE can’t run,” one viewer wrote under a video of a police officer running away from a drag queen. Another said: “I love it. I don’t care if it’s ‘fake’ or not. I just want to see something that inspires me.” Some seek emotional release, while others worry about where inspiration ends and dangerous delusions begin.
Anti-ICE AI videos exist in a strange space between art, activism, and algorithmically optimized engagement bait. They offer what Arter calls “revisionist justice.” In other words, he envisions a “digital multiverse in which ICE agents, like the rest of us, are not above the law.” But in a country where video evidence of police violence repeatedly fails to provide accountability, perhaps the question is not whether these AI fantasies are useful. Perhaps it is what they are revealing about how broken trust in institutions is.
The explosion of AI-generated anti-ICE content on meta platforms captures a cultural moment in which digital fantasy and political reality are dangerously intertwined. While these videos provide a cathartic release for communities traumatized by federal overreach, they risk undermining the very video evidence that has proven critical in documenting actual ICE violence. Both the resistance movement and the government itself have weaponized AI manipulation, leaving Americans unable to distinguish between authentic documents and algorithmically generated wish fulfillment at a moment when the real victim is shared truth and that distinction matters most.
