American rock band Linkin Park on Saturday said that it had issued a cease-and-desist letter to the re-election campaign of US President Donald Trump over the unauthorised use of the band’s song "In the End" as background music for a recent campaign video.
"Linkin Park did not and does not endorse Trump, nor authorize his organization to use any of our music", the band announced through its official Twitter account on Saturday. "A cease and desist has been issued".
The video, which consisted of a series of fast cuts showing Trump campaign rallies and public appearances sprinkled with some quotes over the song, was tweeted by Trump on Saturday but was soon deleted "in response to a report by the copyright owner".
The video was removed from Twitter and is no longer displayed on POTUS's page.
The soundtrack used in the video was a cover of Linkin Park’s song "In the End", performed by singer Fleurie and hip hop artist Jung Youth, produced by songwriter Tommee Profitt.
Youth hit out at the Trump campaign, calling their video "propaganda", noting that he "stands firmly against bigotry and racism".
"Earlier today I found out that trump illegally used a cover song that I am part of in a propaganda video which he tweeted...anyone who knows me knows I stand firmly against bigotry and racism. Much love to everyone in the twitter community who helped get the video taken down fr!!", the artist tweeted.
This is not the first time the Trump re-election campaign has seen its promotional materials taken down from social media platforms or shut off from use at political rallies due to copyright infringement. Several Trump campaign videos were earlier disabled, including a "racist baby" CNN-like video and a reviled tribute video to late African American, George Floyd, who died in the custody of white Minneapolis police officers in May.
Among high-profile music artists who have shut the door on the Trump administration and the Trump campaign are Neil Young, Tom Petty (via his estate), Prince (via his estate), Queen, Nickelback, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Adele.
In response to a notion that he is repeatedly blocked by social media platforms, Trump criticised Twitter and other social media networks for being "controlled by the Radical Left", vowing to sign an executive order that would make it easier for people to sue online platforms.