American Eagle faced a manufactured controversy over an ad featuring Sydney Sweeney, with conservative media outlets falsely accusing the campaign of promoting eugenics. The accusations, amplified by figures like JD Vance and Megyn Kelly, were based on a line in the ad about genes. American Eagle released a statement clarifying the ad focused solely on the jeans and their wearability. Despite the manufactured outrage, no prominent Democrats criticized the campaign.

Prepared by Christopher Adams and reviewed by editorial team.