Journalist and host of “The Joy Reid Show,” Joy-Ann Reid, is sounding the alarm about a recent Instagram post from the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS posted a TikTok on its X account of a group of young black men threatening to hunt down ICE agents in exchange for a bounty. In the caption, the government agency wrote: “FAFO. If you threaten or lay hands on our law enforcement officers, we will hunt you down and you will find out very quickly. We will see you again soon, cowards.”
However, the video is generated by AI. And it was stolen from a real TikTok user who never threatened ICE.
The Trump administration is no stranger to using AI content. Just yesterday, President Donald Trump himself released an AI-generated video showing him flying a fighter jet and dropping feces on “No Kings” protesters. But this post was taken from a real TikTok user who was making a video on an entirely different topic.
Reid posted an explanation on his TikTok of what makes this DHS video particularly dangerous.
“They basically used this man’s video to create a false threat against ICE from young black men,” Reid said. “They’ve used anti-blackness as a weapon; they’ve used the lie that these federal agents are under threat and that there’s a price on their heads. And they’re using anti-blackness to create this false sense of threat.”
The original post from TikTok user @mr.floridajhit is from June. And the legend is addressed to the country of Iran. The video released by DHS is also re-edited with different music.
“You’ve seen what ‘WE’ can do, don’t say you can’t finish Iran,” read the caption of the original TikTok. “‘WE’ are all ready, united, WE are all standing. ‘WE’ want all the smoke.”
In a new post on his own page discussing the DHS AI video, the TikToker said his original video was not meant to be taken seriously.
“Iran, this should not have posed a threat,” he said. “It was literally a joke.”
This exposure has already put the original poster in danger. You can see people writing comments about DHS on his other recent videos.
“I’m getting threats daily on IG and all over my social media, all of a sudden,” he said.
He also confirmed in his comments that he was seeking an attorney to possibly file suit against the ministry.
Reid points out that the irony of DHS’ message is that ICE agents have been seen and documented terrorizing people in high-profile raids in recent months due to President Trump’s takeover of federal law enforcement. Scenes of children tied up and separated from their families, people missing from the streets, and American citizens detained by ICE were captured and reposted all over the internet. DHS often posts the videos on its social media pages.
“These people are out of control, and yet they want you to believe that the real threat is young black men threatening ICE agents — something they made up — by stealing this young man’s content,” Reid said. “If your government can steal your content in order to use a falsehood against Americans, threatening their lives, what else could it do using your social media?
