Image: X/@PeteHegseth. Not copyright protected (produced with AI)
Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of War (or is it still Defense?) has demonstrated a deft capacity for stepping firmly into one cowpoop after another. There was the fiasco of discussing imminent strikes against Houthi rebels in a Signal chat group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, along with a few others such as journalists not authorized to have access to such high security information. Now there is the issue of whether he issued a second kill order for two survivors of a drug boat that had just been targeted by the US military. As serious as this may be, his subsequent ridiculing of the incident by co-opting friendly old Franklin the turtle to make light of his actions demonstrates not only appalling judgement, but also a cavalier attitude to and ignorance of trademark and copyright law that you would have thought that a senior government official of cabinet rank might just take into consideration. But this was not a communique issued by the Defense Department, it was a personal tweet on X. If anything, it underlines the risks of senior government officials (from the President on down) using social media accounts to comment on government policy.
The fact that Hegseth saw nothing wrong with appropriating the trademarked and copyrighted character of Franklin for his own ends while manipulating it with AI, in the process potentially damaging the brand image of a well known and well-loved children’s literary and cartoon icon, shows the level of his ignorance, hubris and disrespect. The fact that he chose a Canadian children’s character may not have been an accident. Would he have taken on Disney by putting the bazooka into the hands of Snow White or Warner Bros by having Bugs Bunny finish off the alleged drug traffickers. Probably not, although it is apparent that his ignorance of the law runs pretty deep.
Franklin’s publisher Kids Can Press, based in Toronto, issued the following statement:
“Franklin the Turtle is a beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy, and inclusivity…We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image, which directly contradicts these values.”
Will they sue? Likely not, since Corus, which exploits the character created and copyrighted by author Paulette Bourgeois and illustrator Brenda Clark, is in deep financial trouble, but they probably could. If they did, Hegseth (who would be the defendant since he posted the image on his personal account) would no doubt claim the US fair use defence of parody. But is this a parody?
To qualify as a parody under fair use in the US, (Section 107 of the US Copyright Act), it must be used for criticism and comment (of Franklin). As outlined in detail in this interpretive post from the Washington, DC based Copyright Alliance, “both parody and satire use humor as a tool to convey a message, but each serves a different purpose. Parody imitates the style of a particular creator with deliberate exaggerations for comedic effect. Satire uses humor to comment on the world-at-large, particularly in the context of politics. While both parody and satire incorporate criticism and commentary, only parody may be considered fair use.”
In other words, Hegseth would have to rely on parody as a fair use defence for his unauthorized use of the copyrighted images and name of Franklin. But is he parodying Franklin the Turtle, the ultimate “nice guy”? Maybe that is his intent, “No more Mr. Nice Guy”. The character is also trademarked, leaving open the possibility of a suit on the grounds of trademark impairment. After all, if Franklin is at heart is a remorseless killer, do you want your kid reading the books or watching the animated shows?
There have been famous cases where US courts ruled in favour of a parody defence, notably what is referred to as the Campbell v Rose-Acuff Music case. As explained by the US Copyright Office, the plaintiff, a music publisher and co-owner of the Roy Orbison 1964 rock ballad “Oh, Pretty Woman”, accused the defendants, hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, of infringing Orbison’s song by releasing a 1989 parody version titled “Pretty Woman.” On appeal the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that had denied fair use because of the extensive amount of material copied. The USCO stated it is essential for someone doing a parody to be able to quote from existing material and use some of the elements of a prior work to create a new one that comments on the original. On the other hand a full-length knock-off/parody of Dr. Suess, “Oh the Places You’ll Boldly Go”, setting Suess characters into a Star Trek world, was ruled an infringement, again on appeal.
So, was Pete Hegseth’s unauthorized use of Franklin to promote his version of the war on drugs on his personal social media account a parody? We will probably never know.
Franklin’s Wikifandom site describes him as “…a young turtle with a big imagination, Franklin tends to be very kind and lovable, and he has a large circle of friends”. No one could mistake Franklin for Pistol Pete. Whether Hegseth’s unauthorized use of Franklin is legal as a parody is unlikely but won’t be litigated. However, there is one parody that is all too evident. That is the spectacular unsuitability of Pete Hegseth, who reached the exalted rank of major in the National Guard and who clearly doesn’t know much about the role he is in, nor does he care, posing as the Secretary of Defense (or is it War?). That’s the true parody.
© Hugh Stephens, 2025. All Right Reserved
Well said. Thank you.