Overview
- The White House added an Arcade section to its official website on Thursday with five retro-style browser games that promote administration priorities.
- Two titles drew the sharpest criticism: Rio Run, a Snake-like game that tallies captured migrants as ‘deported,’ and Build the Wall, a Tetris-style game that asks players to stack blocks to block a pixelated ‘horde.’
- White House digital staff defended the effort as interactive outreach and Kaelan Dorr called the games “policy you can interact with,” saying the site aims to engage supporters online.
- The Tetris Company said it had no role in creating Build the Wall and is reviewing the matter, while the arcade’s promo borrowed familiar console imagery that prompted additional intellectual-property concerns.
- Reporters and lawmakers have asked whether contractors or taxpayer funds were used and immigrant-rights groups warn the games dehumanize real people, leaving unresolved questions about legality, ethics and oversight.