AI anti-drug video questioned for counterproductive effect; Correctional Services Department apologizes, has taken it down

The day before yesterday was the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The Correctional Services Department uploaded an anti-drug short film titled 《Obsession: Sugar-Coated Trap》 on social media, but netizens questioned it for having the opposite effect of promoting drugs. The department removed the film early yesterday morning and replaced it with a 10-second edited version, but then took down that edited version yesterday evening.

The Correctional Services Department stated on its social media page that it deeply apologizes for the expression and production of the anti-drug short film causing discussion among citizens, acknowledging its shortcomings and stating that the film has been taken down. In the future, the department will review the entire promotional production process on social media platforms, ensuring that when producing any short films, the crime prevention education message is clear and explicit, while also balancing creativity and public acceptance.

In response to inquiries, the Correctional Services Department stated that the anti-drug short film was produced using AI technology, with the original intention of using a method popular among young people to illustrate that drugs are poison wrapped in a sugar coating, reminding young people not to be tempted. The short film was produced by department staff responsible for multimedia production and social media platform management within the Correctional Services Department's establishment, and the production involved no additional public funds.

The first short film uploaded by the Correctional Services Department was about one minute long. It personified four drugs: cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, and etomidate. Four female group members introduced the characteristics of each drug through song and dance on stage, until the latter part of the clip, where the four transformed into gaunt men, and a narrator described the harms of drugs, urging everyone not to be deceived by the "sugar coating."