After several days of demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and militarized federal forces in Los Angeles, residents of downtown L.A. encountered a curfew this week as California Governor Gavin Newsom confronted President Trump, who sent Marines to the region. Memes and misleading information proliferated.
The “No Kings” organizing coalition has arranged thousands of peaceful protests this weekend to coincide with Trump’s military parade. While organizers seek to achieve the “largest single-day, peaceful protest” in U.S. history, there are fears regarding possible state-sanctioned violence and the impact of viral misinformation on media coverage.
Peter Adams, senior vice president of research and design at the News Literacy Project, emphasized the prevalence of online misinformation during large demonstrations, which can be identified even before protesters assemble. Adams oversees the organization’s misinformation newsletter RumorGuard, providing viral fact-checking and literacy strategies.
“Protests generally happen around contentious events,” Adams remarked. “The more contentious the event, the more political identities come into play. These identities greatly affect online responses. With heightened polarization in American society, this has become even more crucial.”
Organizations dedicated to debunking news and misinformation, like NewsGuard, have dispelled numerous false claims, including those alleging that Newsom circulated an outdated or AI-created image of national guard troops while criticizing Trump’s militarized response. Such claims were disseminated by X chatbot Grok, which misled users regarding the recency of the photos—ChatGPT users also experienced similar misunderstandings.
Others, including representatives from the Trump administration, contributed to misinformation with misattributed or inaccurate quotes from figures such as California congresswoman Maxine Waters and Mexican president Claudia Scheinbaum. Viral posts from both factions sought to manipulate public perception, Adams explains.
“Viral misinformation follows historical patterns, and recognizing these patterns aids us in resisting viral rumors,” Adams stated.
As demonstrations progress, here’s what to keep an eye on:
**AI Chatbot Errors and Hallucinations**
“Chatbots frequently produce outdated or incorrect information, particularly during rapidly evolving events,” stated Adams and other experts from the News Literacy Project. As users seek fact-checking assistance on platforms lacking robust internal verification, AI-driven tools are becoming less reliable as news resources.
Despite their convenience, “AI is susceptible to significant inaccuracies, blending details from both reliable and unreliable sources, mistakenly presenting falsehoods as facts,” Adams noted. “Do not depend on generative AI for truth verification.”
**The Paid Protestor Myth**
Large demonstrations often encounter accusations of hired participants. On June 10, a fabricated Craigslist advertisement went viral, seeking “the toughest badasses in the city” for compensation ranging from $6,500 to $12,500 for participating in L.A. rallies.
Online pranks or “troll” activities can aggravate such rumors. It’s simpler to fabricate screenshots from user or official accounts, Adams emphasized, and ironic postings by public officials and agencies add to the public’s confusion regarding post authenticity.
**Bricks and Other Objects Used for ‘Violent’ Protest**
Claims of orchestrated bricks or items for violent protests are a “recurring hoax” during mass demonstrations. Last week’s protests, which resulted in police confrontations and property damage, included misleading posts about coordinated efforts, featuring images from construction sites in New Jersey and Malaysia.
**Recycled Footage of Looting, Arson, or Previous Protests**
Coverage of mass protests is often clouded by unrelated footage shared for virality or to elicit specific reactions (similarly seen during significant weather events). Clips from the 2020 George Floyd protests resurfaced after the June 8 Los Angeles demonstrations.
“Distributing out-of-context footage is a typical tactic for spreading falsehoods,” the organization commented.
**Video Game or Movie Clips Passed Off as the Real Thing**
Recently, hyperrealistic video game footage has been portrayed as real-life events. Generative AI complicates the delineation between reality and fiction.
Individuals may be misled by fake or ironic posts presented as legitimate news, or what Adams refers to as a “stolen satire” phenomenon, as brands and trolls exploit a muddled information landscape. The emergence of news influencers, live streamers, and “citizen journalists” at protests contributes to partisan efforts to discredit standards-based news sources, Adams notes.
“We find ourselves in a space where no consensus on reality exists, an environment detrimental to democracy,” he remarked. “Stay mindful of your emotions. Exercise caution concerning user-generated content and unfamiliar sources. Always verify before amplifying anything you aren’t sure is true.”