"It's Civil War": Online Misinformation and Falsehoods Rise As Los Angeles Protests Continue

Tensions in Los Angeles rose over the weekend as tens of thousands of protesters swarmed the streets to oppose immigrant raids by Immigration and Customs Services (ICE) in the city. The protesters were met with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs, but at home, viewers were met with conspiracy theories and misinformation. Tensions continue to escalate as the Trump administration deploys hundreds of Marines to the city.

Almost immediately after the protests started, a flood of falsehoods took over the internet, with many sparking outrage toward immigrants and political leaders, particularly Democrats, a recent New York Times report shows.

These developments added to the confusion over what exactly was happening on the streets, with events portrayed in a starkly different manner on social media. Many posts also created the false impression that the entire city was run by protesters and faced violence even though the demonstrations only took place in a small section of Los Angeles.

For instance, James Woods, the actor who has become known for spreading conspiracy theories, used his account on X to rail against the state's elected officials, especially California Gov. Gavin Newsom. He also reposted a fabricated quote, attributed to former President Barack Obama, discussing a secret plot to impose socialism on the country, as well as a video of burning police cars that was from 2020.

Another conspiracy theorist, Mike Benz, who claimed on X last year that the Pentagon used pop star Taylor Swift as part of a psychological operation to undercut President Donald Trump, shared on his account that L.A. Mayor, Karen Bass, had links to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and had helped start the riots in the city where she lives.

Similarly, a photograph of a pallet of bricks, actually posted on the website of a building materials wholesaler in Malaysia, was cited as proof that the protests were organized by nonprofit organizations supported by George Soros, the financier who, to the conspiratorial right, has become a mastermind of what they see as global disorder.

"It's Civil War!!" an account on X wrote on Saturday, claiming that the bricks had been placed near ICE offices "Democrat militants."

Darren L. Linvill, a researcher at Clemson University's Media Forensic Hub, told the outlet that conservatives online were "building up the riots in a performative way" to help bolster Trump's claims that Los Angeles had been taken over by "violent, insurrectionist mobs."

Linvill added that the posts online were also "a bit self-fulfilling." "As they direct attention to it, more protesters will show up," he said.

Democrats have blamed the administration for going after Gov. Newsom and manufacturing chaos by sending National Guard troops to rile up otherwise peaceful protests.

"Trump is sending 2,000 National Guard troops into L.A. County— not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis. He's hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control," Newsom said Sunday on X, where he also urged people to "stay peaceful."