Civil War in Controversy Over AI-Generated Adverts

A24 has put out a wave of posters to promote Civil War , but there’s something not quite right about them.

In the five pieces of marketing art below we see snapshots of a destroyed United States. Soldiers patrol the lake outside San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts; the Las Vegas Sphere now sits blackened with all its panels punched out; Miami’s roads are a mass of wrecked cars.

Zooming in, however, reveals all manner of weirdness that is usually associated with AI-generated imagery. Houses have multiple roofs, for instance, while road barricades get wonky and disappear when you trace along them.

A24 hasn’t said whether the posters are AI-generated or not, but it’s resulted in uproar on social media - not only because it potentially puts artists out of work, but also because none of the scenes advertised actually happen in the film.

Civil War AI poster reactions

• @alfredobofa writes: “I thought one of the coolest and smartest things about Civil War was how honestly they shot rural America. So of course A24 is undermining that with AI generated posters that look like MW3 campaign missions.”

• @woahitsjuanito writes: “why is a24 out here posting AI generated civil war posters on social media.”

• @SamOnSeratonin writes: “A24 using AI generated posters for Civil War…posters that are also false advertising. So much for branding themselves as the “elevated” independent film distributor and production company. Woeful low. Very disappointed.”

Despite the advertising misstep, the film is now A24’s biggest release to date, with Civil War becoming A24’s highest grossing opening weekend .