How false antifa rumors spread locally
In recent weeks, as demonstrations against racism spread across the country, residents in at least 41 U.S. cities and towns became alarmed by rumors that the loose collective of anti-fascist activists known as antifa was headed to their area, according to an analysis by the New York Times. In many cases, they contacted their local law enforcement for help.
In each case, it was for a threat that never appeared. Here are some ways antifa falsehoods spread in local communities.
One tweet
On the last weekend in May, police in Sioux Falls, S.D., decided to investigate whether busloads of antifa protesters were headed to town. It shows what can happen from a single tweet.
They were responding to a rumor spreading quickly among residents online and first posted to Twitter by the local Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re being told that buses are en route from Fargo for today’s march downtown…,” the group posted on Twitter. “Please bring in any furniture, signs, etc. that could be possibly thrown through windows.”
The tweet was later deleted, but not before the rumor spread verbatim on Facebook, where it was even translated into Spanish.
YouTube to Infowars
A false rumor about antifa protesters in Yucaipa, Calif., a city about 70 miles from Los Angeles, started with one viral YouTube video about the city. Before long, it had even reached a national audience.
A YouTube video posted June 2, featuring scenes of men in masks and holding guns, purportedly residents of the city preparing for “potential antifa looting ahead of a planned BLM protest,” has collected 17,200 views in the days since. Facebook posts of photos claiming to show the Yucaipa residents defending their town were posted at least 587 times in Facebook groups, and amassed over 24,000 likes and shares, according to the Times analysis. They were shared in pro-Trump and far-right Facebook groups, as well as other local community groups.
A day later, the conspiracy website Infowars posted an article about the false narrative, which spread it further among followers of conspiracy groups and several Facebook groups dedicated to praising Trump.
Candidate for Congress
A congressional candidate more than 2,000 miles away from Yucaipa started to spread a similar message. The episode highlights how even when a tech company removes bad local information, it can happen too late.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican in northwest Georgia and a professed member of the fringe conspiracy theory group QAnon, tweeted an ad for her House campaign showing her holding an AR-15-style rifle and threatening antifa activists. “You won’t burn our churches, loot our businesses or destroy our homes,” she said in the ad.
It was retweeted 20,000 times. That same campaign ad was removed from Facebook two days later — but not before it racked up over 1.2 million views. According to the social network, the video violated the company’s policies against promoting the use of firearms.