Trump’s Space-Themed Campaign Infringes NASA’s Advertising Rules, Gets Removed
Image via Shutterstock
US president Donald Trump’s campaign team pulled down a Make Space Great Again video which violated advertising guidelines by NASA.
The two-and-a-half-minute ad, which was stated to have been removed by the uploader on YouTube, began with a 1962 speech by President John F. Kennedy proclaiming that the US would one day land on the moon. It then showed several images of the space agency’s astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who successfully docked at the ISS via SpaceX’s Falcon9 rocket in a historic launch on 30 May. The ad additionally briefly featured SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
NASA’s advertising rules prohibit the use of its astronauts’ likenesses in advertising and marketing materials.
“Astronauts or employees who are currently employed by NASA cannot have their names, likenesses or other personality traits displayed in any advertisements or marketing material,” the space agency wrote on its website.
Trump’s reelection campaign did not offer a reason as to why the commercial—which arrived with a disclaimer that it was paid for the team and approved by the president—was taken down, though a spokesperson said clips used in the ad had been obtained from publicly available resources. The ad was also removed on Facebook and Twitter.
A representative for NASA said it was not aware of the ad until after it had been published.
Retired NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, the wife of Hurley, took to Twitter to express her repulsion about the unprecedented campaign. “I find it disturbing that a video image of me and my son is being used in political propaganda without my knowledge or consent,” she wrote. “That is wrong.”
My friends at @Nasa and @SpaceX aren’t props for a political campaign. And I’m certain that the Trump campaign does not have permission to use the likenesses of everyone pictured here. https://t.co/GvPhbsXYvL
— John Taylor (@jbtaylor) June 3, 2020
I find it disturbing that a video image of me and my son is being used in political propaganda without my knowledge or consent. That is wrong. @nasa @JimBridenstine https://t.co/cXcKHxmn6e
— Karen L. Nyberg (@AstroKarenN) June 4, 2020
[via Bloomberg, cover image via Shutterstock]
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