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indivisible
'Don't Stream Fascism': ICE Recruitment Ads Spark Calls to Cancel Spotify Subscriptions
"A platform built to connect creators and listeners is helping an authoritarian regime build up its secret police force," said Indivisible.
Oct 28, 2025
Outrage over Spotify running advertisements for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ramped up on Tuesday, with the progressive advocacy group Indivisible urging users to cancel their subscriptions until the ICE ads are removed, engage in peaceful protests outside the streaming giant's offices and events, and call on artists to boycott the platform.
Aiming to deliver on President Donald Trump's campaign promise of mass deportations, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this summer launched an ICE recruitment campaign, with incentives including a $50,000 signing bonus, student loan repayment and forgiveness options, enhanced retirement benefits, and more.
With 276 million subscribers and 696 million monthly active users last quarter, Spotify is the world's largest streaming service. Earlier this month, a Spotify spokesperson told The Indepedent that the ads encouraging listeners to "join the mission to protect America" and "fulfill your mission" by applying to become an ICE agent do not violate the company's advertising policies.
The spokesperson added that the ads are "part of a broad campaign the US government is running across television, streaming, and online channels."
The British outlet noted that "they mirror similar advertising that has been seen on cable television, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Meta," and subscribers to ESPN, HBO Max, Hulu, and Pandora have also complained of encountering ICE ads.
As Trump's anti-migrant rampage continued in Chicago and other cities across the country on Tuesday, Indivisible sent out an email with the subject line: "Don't stream fascism. Cancel Spotify."
Spotify is now running ICE recruitment ads. We asked them to stop. They ignored us. Let's show them what we showed Disney. No Kings, No Collaborators, No Capitulators. indivisible.org/cancel-spotify
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— Ezra Levin ❌👑 (@ezralevin.bsky.social) October 28, 2025 at 5:24 PM
"Spotify is running ads recruiting agents for ICE," the email says. "Let that sink in. A platform built to connect creators and listeners is helping an authoritarian regime build up its secret police force. They're choosing complicity over the artists, podcasters, and fans who make Spotify what it is—and when users and musicians called them out, Spotify's first act was doubling down."
"But we're not going to idly accept that. We're going to make them listen," the email continues, pointing to the boycott of Disney in September, after the Trump administration's bullying briefly got Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show yanked off of ABC.
Indivisible also published a video tutorial for canceling a Spotify premium account and a webpage with its demands for the company's founder and chief executive, Daniel Ek, as well as incoming co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström:
- Immediately terminate all ICE and DHS advertising contracts with Spotify;
- Spotify must update its advertising policy to prohibit government propaganda and hate-based recruitment campaigns; and
- Spotify must commit to defending civil rights and standing up for communities under threat from authoritarian actions.
As for Spotify users who cancel their accounts and peaceful protesters, Indivisible is calling on them to promote their actions on social media with the hashtags #CancelSpotify, #DontStreamFascism, and #StopICEAds.
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Pro-Democracy Americans Gear Up for 'No Kings' Day Nationwide
"Don’t miss this chance to be part of the largest expression of free speech we’ve ever had," said progressive filmmaker Michael Moore.
Oct 17, 2025
Organizers are expecting Saturday's nationwide "No Kings" rallies to be among the largest single-day demonstrations in US history, and many activists and politicians on Friday sent messages of encouragement to demonstrators.
Leah Greenberg, the co-founder and co-president of Indivisible, which is one of the main organizers of the demonstrations, told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! on Friday that she and her group are "engaging in the most American activity in the world, which is coming together in peaceful protest of our government."
Greenberg then addressed attacks from President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers over the last week that the "No Kings" events were a "hate America" rally.
"This is a classic exercise of the authoritarian playbook, to try to create fear, to try to threaten, to try to make people back off preemptively," she said. "We're not going to do that... we won't be cowed."
Former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich also hit back at GOP claims that the "No Kings" rallies were anti-American, and he argued that the people attending them will be doing so out of a deep sense of patriotism.
"We’re rallying tomorrow because we LOVE America," he wrote in a post on X. "It's an opportunity for all of us who love this country to express our determination that our nation’s ideals not be crushed by the Trump regime."
Progressive filmmaker Michael Moore encouraged his supporters to take part in Saturday's demonstrations, and he wrote on his personal Substack it was of the utmost importance for Americans to make their voices heard in the face of authoritarian threats from the Trump administration.
"Don’t miss this chance to be part of the largest expression of free speech we’ve ever had," he said. "Time has run out. One year from now, don’t find yourself wishing you had done something. Said something. This is our last chance, the final moment to stop the madness. I implore you to join us."
Several Democratic politicians also expressed support for the demonstrations.
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) blasted Trump and the GOP for attacking the patriotism of the "No Kings" protesters.
"I'll be damned if I'm gonna let the Draftdodger-in-Chief tell me what a patriot is," he wrote in a social media post. "We're STANDING UP, SPEAKING OUT, and FIGHTING BACK. No Kings in America. See you Saturday."
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent out a video message expressing solidarity with Chicago and Portland, Oregon, two cities in which Trump has tried to deploy National Guard soldiers, and let them know that they fighting against authoritarianism by themselves.
"The people everywhere are standing up, in all 50 states and thousands of towns and cities across America," he said. "We have no kings here, no crowns, no thrones."
A Message for No Kings Weekend: The millions rallying across the country love America and are defending it with joy, wit, defiance and courage. Everyone who stands with us now will win the affection and gratitude of people for all time. pic.twitter.com/xmHD5MjTpm
— Jamie Raskin (@jamie_raskin) October 17, 2025
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) accused Trump and Republicans of waging a campaign of intimidation aimed at frightening Americans out of exercising their rights to peacefully demonstrate.
"The Republicans' attacks on the No Kings protests are sickening," he wrote in a post on Bluesky. "To them, only pro-Trump speech is protected. If you oppose Trump, you 'hate America' or you're a 'terrorist.' What they're trying to do is simple: suppress turnout this weekend. Don't let them win."
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GOP Leaders Smear Upcoming 'No Kings' Marches as 'Hate America Rallies' by ‘Terrorists’
"Looks like everyone in my former political party has signed on to the Donald Trump/Stephen Miller game plan, which means calling Democrats 'terrorists,'" wrote a disgusted ex-Republican in response.
Oct 10, 2025
Multiple Republican lawmakers on Friday lobbed smears against the upcoming "No Kings" rallies scheduled to take place on October 18 across the US.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) described the "No Kings" events as "a hate-America rally," which he said would include "the Antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists."
"They're all going to gather on the [Washington] Mall," Johnson continued. "We've got some House Democrats selling t-shirts for this event. It is an outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes."
Mike Johnson: "This hate America rally that they have coming up for October 18? The antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists, they're all gonna gather on the Mall. It is an outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes ... all this has gotta come to an end." pic.twitter.com/9du1GED0z2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 10, 2025
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) echoed Johnson and linked the "No Kings" marches to the continued federal government shutdown, claiming Democrats were refusing to vote to fund the government "to score political points with the terrorist wing of their party, which is set to hold... a hate-America rally in DC next week."
Emmer: "This is about one thing and one thing alone -- to score political points with the terrorist wing of their party, which is set to hold a hate America rally in DC next week." pic.twitter.com/FKnIpFMSUY
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 10, 2025
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), during an interview on Newsmax, described the October 18 protests as "a Soros paid-for protest" filled with "professional protesters" and "agitators," and threatened those who attend with a deployment of armed forces like the ones President Donald Trump has imposed on cities including Chicago and Memphis.
"We'll have to get the National Guard out," he said. "Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it."
Sen. Roger Marshall: "October 18 is when the protest gets here. This will be a Soros paid-for protest for his professional protesters. The agitators show up. We'll have to get the National Guard out. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it." pic.twitter.com/UkxskdA2mT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 10, 2025
Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman from Illinois who broke with the party over its refusal to hold Trump accountable, expressed disgust with linking the "No Kings" marches to terrorists.
"Looks like everyone in my former political party has signed on to the Donald Trump/Stephen Miller game plan, which means calling Democrats 'terrorists,'" he wrote in a post on X. "Terrorists? Despicable. Shameful."
The October 18 "No Kings" rallies are a sequel to nationwide demonstrations that took place this past June and drew an estimated 5 million people across over 2,100 cities and towns.
Contrary to the Republican lawmakers' claims, these protests were overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations against what organizers described as "the gross abuse of power that we’ve seen consistently from the Trump administration."
Ezra Levin, cofounder of progressive organization Indivisible, one of the groups behind the "No Kings" marches, vowed on Thursday that the upcoming events will be "the largest peaceful protest in modern American history."
Levin also remained defiant in the face of baseless claims that his organization funds violent rioting.
"Trump and Miller can lie, smear, and threaten all they want," he said. "They will lose."
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