Spotify has not been a high priority for the Department of Homeland Security
February 6, 2026
February 3, 2026
January 28, 2026
ICE’s push to hire 10,000 more guys who peaked in high school and still owe last month’s rent to their moms — or as the popular euphemism would have it, “deportation officials” — includes millions of advertising dollars spent on streaming platforms such as YouTube, Meta‘s Facebook and Instagram, HBO Max, Hulu, and Spotify. A new report from Rolling Stone breaks down how much money is going where, along with a more comprehensive look at some of the, uh, interesting tactics being employed by the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS and ICE have spent $2.8 million across Meta’s two biggest platforms, Facebook and Instagram. These commercials mostly tell listeners “to fulfill your mission,” the mission being, apparently, tear-gassing a kids’ Halloween parade route or denying medications to detainees until they die. An additional $3 million went to Spanish-language ads across Google and YouTube that essentially threaten listeners, all in an effort to encourage “self-deportation.”
Somewhat surprisingly, DHS spent only $74,000 advertising on Spotify. Given that some Spotify users are organizing boycotts over these ads, it’s worth making a couple of points. First, commercials on Spotify are dirt cheap and not a significant revenue source for the Big Green Circle. They mostly exist to annoy you into buying a paid plan. And second, the internet is not real life, and in all likelihood, very few people have canceled their Spotify accounts.
Spotify isn’t raking in millions off DHS — in fact, their ICE income is closer to a rounding error on their books. This isn’t Cracker Barrel rebranding and then un-rebranding after a massive backlash, and if you were the betting type, you’d probably bet that Spotify has lost less than $74,000 in cancelation revenue. That might be disappointing to some readers, but in retrospect, it’s easy to spot a flaw in the plan: The boycotts are organized around ads that paid customers never hear.
ICE continues to offer a $50,000 signing bonus for new recruits. Adjusted for inflation, Judas probably got around $10,000 for selling out Jesus. So, on the plus side, $50,000 is actually a pretty good price for your soul, historically speaking.
Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with our daily email digest.
February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
