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White House TikTok post goes silent after scathing Zara Larsson critique

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Cite

Li, D. K. (2026, September 18). White House TikTok post goes silent after scathing Zara Larsson critique. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/white-house-tiktok-post-goes-silent-wake-scathing-zara-larsson-critiqu-rcna598513

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

NBC News · collected 2026-09-18 · by David K. Li

Quick Summary

A White House TikTok video promoting ICE-led deportations was silenced after Swedish singer Zara Larsson criticized it for using her song "Midnight Sun." On Thursday, Larsson called the video “uncool” and referred to those behind it as “losers,” reaching 12.5 million followers on the platform. By Friday morning, the White House video had gone silent, displaying a message that the sound was unavailable. Larsson highlighted how many of the detained individuals appeared to be essential workers in neon protective gear, emphasizing their humanity and right to better opportunities.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Swedish pop star Zara Larsson criticized the White House for using her song "Midnight Sun" in a TikTok video showing ICE agents arresting and deporting individuals. The clip was captioned "never-ending deportations," playing on Larsson's lyrics about Scandinavia's never-ending sun, but she described it as "dehumanizing." Her reaction video garnered over 4.2 million views on TikTok. Larsson later reposted part of the original clip and called out the White House, telling her followers that seeing such content made her sad and heavy-hearted. The White House's video was subsequently muted on TikTok, though it wasn't clear whether this action was taken by the platform or the administration itself.

Written for “Zara Larsson Critiques White House” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Zara Larsson Critiques White House
Entertainment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Global News
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 65 claims Outlet record 63/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 68/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
60/100
NBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

NBC News · 1949 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

Who wrote this

David K. Li
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by David K. Li
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by David K. Li →

Topics

ICE Sweden TikTok White House the White House

Subjects

Larsson PERSON · 4× TikTok ORG · 4× Sweden GPE · 2× White House ORG · 2× the White House ORG · 2× ICE ORG · 1× Scandinavian NORP · 1× Stockholm GPE · 1× Swedish NORP · 1× Zara Larsson PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The Swedish artist took to TikTok, flashed an “L” sign with her thumb and index finger and called the White House “losers” for borrowing a tune that celebrates the joy of Scandinavian nature to soundtrack a celebration of mass deportations.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 Representatives for the platform and administration could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

A White House TikTok video, celebrating ICE-led deportations went silent on Friday after singer Zara Larsson tore into the administration for using her song “Midnight Sun” in the post. asserted
Larsson → celebrate → post
The Swedish artist took to TikTok, flashed an “L” sign with her thumb and index finger and called the White House “losers” for borrowing a tune that celebrates the joy of Scandinavian nature to soundtrack a celebration of mass deportations. asserted
that → take → deportations
“It’s just so f---ing uncool,” she told 12.5 million TikTok followers on Thursday. asserted
she → ’ → Thursday
By Friday morning, that video had gone silent displaying the message: “This sound is unavailable.” asserted
sound → go → message
It wasn’t immediately clear if TikTok had acted to protect Larsson’s work or whether the White House muted the video itself. asserted
House → act → video
Representatives for the platform and administration could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday. uncertain
Representatives → reach → Friday
“If you want to talk about politics and immigration politics, fine,” Larsson said. asserted
Larsson → want → politics
“But that’s really not what this is. asserted
this → ’ → ?
The White House video appeared to show agents arresting men, implying that they were undocumented immigrants. asserted
they → appear → men
Larsson said she was struck that many of the detained appeared to be wearing neon-colored protective work clothes, the kind common on construction sites or on the highway. asserted
many → say → highway
“These people in this video, they’re real people. asserted
they → ’re → video
There’s a f---ing guy in there with construction wear,” Larsson said. asserted
Larsson → ’ → wear
“He’s working and a vast majority of these people who are undocumented are regular people with jobs. asserted
who → work → jobs
They’re just trying to have a better future. asserted
They → try → future
I don’t understand. asserted
I → understand → ?
I don’t understand why you would do this video. asserted
you → understand → video
” The 28-year-old Stockholm native said she’s keenly aware of the opportunities afforded to her growing up in Sweden. asserted
she → say → Sweden
“I consider myself so lucky with the life that I’ve been dealt. asserted
I → consider → that
The fact that I’m born in Sweden, I have healthcare, I’ve had an education, I’ve had all these opportunities just laid out in front of me,” the artist said. asserted
artist → bear → me
“I can travel, I get to do all of these amazing things-that’s luck. asserted
that → travel → things
That’s luck. asserted
That → ’ → ?
So much of that is luck, and there, there’s people out there who are who are not that lucky, and they want to have a better life for their families or for themselves and their children.” asserted
they → ’ → themselves
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