Govee included a book with 'White Supremacy' on the spine in a promotional lifestyle image on its website, which was spotted by a reader and later removed after inquiry, sparking discussion about oversight in product imagery.
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<img alt="Two screenshots showing books titled “White Supremacy” featured in a Govee product image." data-caption="The sort of light reading material you’d expect to find in a childs bedroom. | Image by Govee, compiled by The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Image by Govee, compiled by The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Govee-white-supremacy-book.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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The sort of light reading material you’d expect to find in a childs bedroom. | Image by Govee, compiled by The Verge </figcaption>
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<p class="has-text-align-none">Companies often include background props in their product imagery that serve as set dressing, but one of Govee's decorative choices is raising some eyebrows. An eagle-eyed <em>Verge</em> reader spotted that two copies of a book with "White Supremacy" plastered on the spine were included in a lifestyle image on Govee's website, in a scene that seemingly depicts a child's bedroom.</p>
<p class="has-text-align-none">You'd be forgiven for assuming that this is the result of some failed generative AI experiment, or the work of a rogue designer, but what actually led to the image being published on Govee's website is unclear. (The image didn't contain any C2PA and SynthID data when we chec …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/937378/govee-white-supremacy-book-promotional-image">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Govee included a book on ‘White Supremacy’ in its website imagery
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/937378/govee-white-supremacy-book-promotional-image](https://www.theverge.com/tech/937378/govee-white-supremacy-book-promotional-image)
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/jess-weatherbed)
Jess Weatherbed
is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture\. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews\.
Companies often include background props in their product imagery that serve as set dressing, but one of Govee’s decorative choices is raising some eyebrows\. An eagle\-eyed*Verge*reader spotted that two copies of a book with “White Supremacy” plastered on the spine were included in a lifestyle image on Govee’s website, in a scene that seemingly depicts a child’s bedroom\.
You’d be forgiven for assuming that this is the result of some failed generative AI experiment, or the work of a rogue designer, but what actually led to the image being published on Govee’s website is unclear\. \(The image didn’t contain any C2PA and SynthID data when we checked, but that doesn’t necessarily rule out that it was generated with AI tools\)\. A cursory look at archived versions of the website suggests the image has been live since[at least April 11th 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260411141134/https://us.govee.com/collections/led-lights-for-bedroom)\.
We have reached out to Govee for clarification on how this has happened\. The image has since been pulled from Govee’s website shortly after we sent our inquiry\.
[](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-130934.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,9.6935376415723,100,80.612924716855)
[](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-154313.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,9.3383873190903,100,81.323225361819)
The book in question does appear to be a real publication, however\. It resembles a collection of essays titled “*State of White Supremacy: Racism, Governance, and the United States*\.” That’s far less nefarious than presumed, but still a wildly unfortunate and questionable cover to include without such context about its content\. Especially on an image that’s promoting pretty decorative lighting for a kids room? For what it’s worth, the other book in the image \(titled “*Another Art Book*”\) is also a genuine book by Jefferson Hack, despite the cover being displayed backwards\.
More bizarrely, this isn’t the first time that this*exact book*has caused similar controversy\. British hardware retailer B&Q[issued an apology back in 2023](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/b-q-white-supremacy-books-advert-b2392561.html)after the book was featured on its website for a radiator cover listed by a third\-party vendor\. B&Q said at the time that the product image “was not picked up by our screening process\.”
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- Jess Weatherbed
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