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Hong Kong pulls AI-made anti-drug video after backlash

July 2, 2026 at 08:51 EDT

Media Generation
Policy & Regulation

Hong Kong's Correctional Services Department (CSD) has withdrawn an AI-generated anti-drug awareness video, released to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse, after critics said it made narcotics look appealing. The video, "Obsession: The Sugar-Coated Trap," was published around 26 June 2026 and featured an AI-generated virtual K-pop girl group called "Obsession" singing and dancing.

26 June 2026 · Hong Kong CSD

The AI Anti-Drug Video That Backfired

Hong Kong's Correctional Services Department released an AI-generated K-pop clip to warn against drugs — but critics said it made drugs look appealing. It was pulled within hours, re-edited, and ultimately withdrawn from every platform.

AI "idols," each named after a drug

2×

Posted, pulled, re-edited, pulled again

Made in-house, no extra public funding

The virtual group "Obsession"

Weedy

Cannabis

Coke

Cocaine

Icy

Methamphetamine

Little E

Etomidate ("space oil")

How the message unraveled

Released

Posted for Int'l Day Against Drug Abuse

→

Backlash

"Looked like an ad" — made drugs too attractive

→

Re-edited

Reposted, then withdrawn again

→

Pulled

Removed from all platforms

The online mockery

Dubbed "the best drug ad in Hong Kong's history," it spawned selfies, stickers and parody songs — a "textbook case of a message backfiring."

The lesson

AI makes creative PSAs cheap and fast — but tone and context are hard to control. A second HK anti-drug ad had already misfired in March 2026.

The core risk: glamorization

When public institutions use AI to make awareness content, the output can achieve the exact opposite of its intent.

CSD said it "took netizens' views seriously" and pledged greater care so the anti-drug message would not be misunderstood.

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