An AI-generated video believed to have been created by a Chinese national mocks American work culture under the president’s new tariffs.
The video depicts obese Americans in factories performing low-skilled labor, with traditional Chinese music playing in the background.
Workers appear exhausted and depressed as they sew clothing and solder smartphones.
It then fades out, ending with the MAGA slogan.
The 32-second clip, shared by TikTok user Ben Lau, has received over 30,000 likes and over 600,000 views since it was posted on Tuesday (April 8). On X (formerly Twitter), the clip was seen more than 6 million times.
A viral AI-generated clip depicts obese, exhausted American factory workers under the new tariffs
Image credits: stock.adobe.com
Naturally, reactions came quickly, with some finding the parody amusing and others outraged by the attempt to ridicule the American work ethic.
“What exactly is your point? My mom worked in a sewing factory for 15 years, she raised us after dad left, stayed off welfare & kept food on the table & a roof over our heads. It was a good job, thankful she had it,” one user wrote.
“My dad worked in an electronics factory assembling circuit boards when I was a kid on Long Island. It went away in the 1990s. The people seemed jovial and happy,” shared someone else.
“Jobs will come back to America. 👏👏” a third user celebrated.
A separate user said: “This is thinking optimistically. Billionaires will automate this while these folks are in the streets begging for food to feed their families.”
“The Chinese music is particularly poignant,” penned another viewer.
An additional user stated: “This isn’t accurate at all. The sweat factory workers would be skinny since they couldn’t afford food.”
Others joked that they were “looking forward” to buying iPhones for $5000 and sneakers for $900.
Many disagreed on the meaning of the “American Dream,” with some expressing optimism about the increase of jobs in the United States, while others voiced concerns about potentially low wages and poor working conditions associated with those new jobs.
The clip, believed to be created by a Chinese artist, shows American workers sewing clothing and manufacturing smartphones
Another AI video, published by Chinese state news network CGTN, features a female voice that sings, “‘Liberation Day,’ you promised us the stars. But tariffs k*lled our cheap Chinese cars.”
Posted on April 3, the song is titled Look What You Taxed Us Through (An AI-Generated Song. A Life-Choking Reality).
The caption reads: “Warning: Track is AI-generated. The debt crisis? 100 percent human-made.”
The lyrics, displayed in English and Chinese, criticize the new tariffs from the point of view of the American consumer, as per TIME magazine.
“Groceries cost a kidney, gas a lung. Your ‘deals’? Just hot air from your tongue,” the voice sings. “Thanks for the tariffs, and the mess you made.”
The AI video features traditional Chinese music playing in the background
New China TV, another state media, published a sci-fi short film titled T.A.R.I.F.F., which tells the story of a robot called Technical Artificial Robot for International Fiscal Functions.
“This is the story of T.A.R.I.F.F., an AIGC [artificial-intelligence-generated content] sci-fi thriller about the relentless weaponization of #Tariffs by the United States, and the psychological journey of a humanoid towards its eventual self-destruction,” the video’s description reads.
The videos come after the US imposed a 104% tariff on Chinese goods, which was followed by the Asian nation’s retaliatory tariffs of 34%.
The US President then threatened to retaliate with more tariffs.
He posted on Truth Social: “Yesterday, China issued Retaliatory Tariffs of 34%, on top of their already record setting Tariffs, Non-Monetary Tariffs, Illegal Subsidization of companies, and massive long term Currency Manipulation, despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the US by issuing additional Tariffs (…) will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs.”
The video, which received over 6 million views on social media, ends with the MAGA slogan
@axiang67 Make america great again～#tariff #america ♬ 原创音乐 – Ben Lau
“If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading ab*ses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50 percent effective April 9th.”
He added that “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated” if the country does not remove its retaliatory tariffs, and that trade negotiations with other nations which have requested meetings with the US “will begin taking place immediately.”
The White House’s argument for imposing tariffs is that they will make Chinese imports more expensive, therefore incentivizing Americans to invest in domestic factories and create jobs for American workers.
The US imposed a 104% tariff on Chinese goods, and China retaliated with 34% tariffs
The president also stated that the tariffs, imposed on imports from about 90 nations, are needed to reduce the trade deficit between the US and other countries, including China and members of the European Union.
Smartphones, computers, lithium-ion batteries, toys and video game consoles account for the majority of Chinese exports to the United States.
Beijing has stated it will “fight to the end” after the US administration threatened to impose further tariffs.
While some were amused by the video, others found it offensive to American work culture
Global markets experienced a sharp decline last week when the president’s tariffs began coming into effect.
“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said, addressing the US market plunge.
“What’s going to happen with the market I can’t tell you, but I can tell you our country has gotten a lot stronger.”
One user referred to the AI-generated video as “misleading propaganda”
