White House leaves people shocked after fake 'Labubu' post sparks one big question

A social media post shared by the White House last night (8 Sept) has raised concerns, after likening an allegedly convicted sex offender to a 'Deported Edition Labubu'.

For those unfamiliar with the latter term, it describes a brand of collectable dolls which take the shape of furry monsters that come in plush boxes, concealing which variation the customer has bought until they get it home.

Labubus have soared in popularity in recent months, and have even become something of a fashion staple for many stars, with the likes of Dua Lipa and Rihanna joining the cult movement and attaching them to their handbags.

Somewhere we didn't expect these quirky toys to appear, however, is on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the White House.

Taking to the social app last night, a member of the presidential residence's PR team shared a computer-generated image of a Labubu box - yet, instead of showing a fuzzy friend on the front, it showed a cartoon version of a supposed pedophile.

The White House likened their version of a Labubu to a convicted criminal (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

The animated man could be seen wearing handcuffs and sporting a tattoo sleeve along his left arm.

The box described the item as a 'Deported Edition Labubu', with a text box next to the cartoon criminal reading, 'Sexual Predator, Illegal Alien, Arrested by ICE!'

The White House's team had captioned the tweet: "WTF. Maybe Labubus are demonic."

A follow-up message shared by the political residence went on to quote a claim made by the New Orleans branch of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It claimed that the cartoon man represented in the viral image is actually Cristian Soto-Galeano, who is alleged to have previously been convicted of the sexual assault of a minor, as per the New York Post.

ICE New Orleans' online message - later shared by the White House - read: "SEXUAL PREDATOR ARRESTED: ICE New Orleans arrested Cristian Soto-Galeano, a citizen of Guatemala.

The White House's tweet confused some users (X/@WhiteHouse)

"His criminal history includes a conviction for indecent behaviour with a juvenile and was sentenced to 2 years in prison. We stand ready to face any challenge, big or small."

The post also contained an image of Soto-Galeano - whose immigrant status is yet to be determined - being arrested by officers, wearing an outfit that seemed to resemble that of the cartoon man in the original Labubu remark.

For reference, following his inauguration in January, current Republican leader Donald Trump announced plans to 'halt' all 'illegal entry' into the US, as part of the 'largest deportation programme in history'.

This, the 79-year-old added at the time, was intended to contribute more widely to the 'complete restoration of America'.

Unsurprisingly, the White House's press and social teams have been called into question by hordes of confused online users, some of whom simply questioned who exactly had control of the X account.

The White House later shared a post uploaded by New Orleans' ICE (X/@ERONewOrleans)

"THIS IS WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE IS TWEETING?" one demanded.

Another confessed: "Had to triple check to make sure this was the actual White House account."

A third asked the platform's AI function Grok: "@grok how likely do you think that the white house account was hacked based on this X post?"

"Bro who is running this account," another went on, whilst a fourth added: "Is this account hacked? Who is the intern?"

One disgruntled user branded the White House's post a 'Diabolical tweet'.

Others, however, accused the organisers of trivialising important topics, with one user hitting out: "This isn’t trolling. This is state-issued satire. They turned ICE raids into Funko Pop packaging. They turned criminal prosecution into a meme. They turned pain into a punchline. And they did it on purpose."

The same user added: "Because when the government jokes like 4chan, you’re not watching politics. You’re watching collapse. This isn’t right-wing.

Trump previously announced mass deportation policies (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

"This isn’t left-wing. This is ritual humiliation. The same people who lose Epstein tapes are now tweeting collectible rapist dolls like it’s a new season of South Park.

"You’re not supposed to know what’s real anymore. You’re just supposed to laugh."

Another agreed: "The White House has been reduced to memes, gifs, and trolling. America is seen as a joke under Trump."