Purveyors of the «Read Another Book» meme, which begs cringey liberals to stop drawing analogies between Harry Potter and real-world politics, may have encountered their toughest opponent yet: the Ukraine Ministry of Defence.
On Tuesday, the actual Twitter account for the Ukraine Ministry of Defence posted a video showing AI-generated characters from J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world in Ukraine’s military gear, joining «the side of good,» as it put it.
There are many characters in the world of literature who dream of joining the #UAarmy – the side of good.
jk_rowling</a><br><br>AI by <a href="https://twitter.com/caton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">caton.lab pic.twitter.com/Reblg8gOZ4— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 23, 2023
The surreal clip slides across AI-generated images of Harry Potter characters that look roughly 80 to 90 percent like their movie actors (save for Hagrid, who appears much more impishly hobbit-like than the late Robbie Coltrane) in Ukraine’s military garb.
The video recalls the «Harry Potter Balenciaga» clip uploaded by YouTuber demonflyingfox in March that similarly created surreal images of Harry Potter characters walking a Balenciaga runway. Also, «Paranoid» by Black Sabbath is playing.
The bewildering post proved an overload of cringe for many on social media, as it managed to combine a caravan of controversial topics in just 15 seconds. The use of AI to create political propaganda using the (near) likenesses of real celebrities rang ethical alarm bells with some; that it used Harry Potter of all things felt about six years too late; Harry Potter is no longer quite the widespread source of liberal fanaticism thanks largely to the transphobia controversies of its author (J.K. Rowling), who the Ukraine Ministry of Defence attempted to tag in its tweet.
More than one Twitter user dubbed the tweet the «worst ever,» and considering the source and the tweet’s content, they may well have a good case.
