U.S. removes advertisement asking ‘Mr. Singh’ to self-deport after backlash
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security removed an AI-generated advertisement that used a caricature of a Sikh man to warn against unlicensed driving. The ad faced intense backlash from advocacy groups and Democratic leaders who labeled it racist propaganda.
Why it matters
This incident highlights the growing controversy surrounding the use of AI-generated imagery in government communications and the potential for such tools to perpetuate racial stereotypes.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday (September 10, 2026) removed a Transformers-style advertisement asking “Mr Singh” to self-deport following a backlash from Indian-American groups and Democratic leaders who described it as “racist propaganda”.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used AI-generated imagery on X to push its campaign against unlicensed commercial drivers, featuring a brown-bearded man with a tagline: “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive, Mr. Singh.” The advertisement sparked off a strong push back from Indian-American and Sikh advocacy groups and also got support from Democratic leaders such as California Governor Gavin Newsom and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.
“This is disgusting. Trump’s government is trafficking in racist propaganda targeting the Sikh community,” Newsom’s press office said in a post on X.
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