An attempt by the Israeli military to join a trending social media craze using AI-generated images in the style of Japan’s iconic Studio Ghibli has drawn widespread backlash online.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday posted four AI-generated illustrations of its military branches rendered in the distinct aesthetic of Studio Ghibli, known for its hand-drawn animation and pacifist themes.
“We thought we’d also hop on the trend,” the IDF said in its post.
The move came just as the global social media space flooded with similar imagery following OpenAI’s release of a new image generation tool last week. The viral trend has sparked ongoing debates about copyright infringement and the role of artificial intelligence in replacing traditional art.
Critics quickly denounced the IDF’s post, citing its timing as Israel continued its military campaign in Gaza, which began in October 2023 and has resulted in the deaths of over 50,000 Palestinians and the mass displacement of civilians.
Many users responded with their own AI-generated counter-images, portraying scenes of alleged Israeli aggression against Palestinians. One image showed soldiers mocking a blindfolded Palestinian child, while another depicted IDF troops aiming weapons at women and children amid ruined buildings.
“Colonizing art too,” one comment read, referencing Israel’s settlement activity and military occupation in Palestinian territories.
Others were quick to highlight the contradiction between the IDF’s use of Ghibli’s visual language and the ideology of Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli’s co-founder, who is a known pacifist and vocal critic of war.
In 2003, Miyazaki declined to attend the Oscars where his film Spirited Away won Best Animated Feature, as a protest against the Iraq war. A resurfaced 2016 documentary clip also shows Miyazaki condemning AI-generated content, saying he was “utterly disgusted” by an AI demo he had seen.
