General
Los Angeles Protests Amplified by Influencers and Online Creators
Creators such as Cam Higby, who is conservative, have sometimes outnumbered traditional media outlets at the immigration protests. Their posts have gone viral.
As protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration stretched into their fifth day on Tuesday, social media creators have at times outnumbered the traditional press corps at rallies and have played an outsize role in sharing media about what has happened on the ground.
Outfitted with their own makeshift press helmets and vests, many creators — many of whom lean conservative — have livestreamed entire days of coverage and posted to social platforms like X and streaming sites like Twitch and YouTube. During some of the week’s most violent moments, Trump officials like Stephen Miller and billionaires like Elon Musk chose to amplify what the creators published, causing the posts to go viral and feeding the narrative that the violence has been out of control.
President Trump said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and others were not in control of the protests, and called for National Guard troops to intervene. Mr. Newsom has said the troops were unnecessary and has filed an emergency motion to stop the Trump administration from sending the troops. At least 150 protesters have been arrested since Friday, officials said.
Among the creators at the protests was Cam Higby, 25, a journalist and political commentator for the conservative digital outlet Today Is America. He flew to Los Angeles from his home in Washington state last Friday after seeing videos of the demonstrations on X.
On Monday night, he livestreamed from the front lines of the protests alongside another online creator and friend, Aldo Buttazoni, 25. Mr. Higby and Mr. Buttazoni previously worked for the conservative media outlet Prager U and brand themselves as “America First 🇺🇸.” Much of their content comes in the form of rebuttals to Democratic officials like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass or Mr. Newsom.
More on the L.A. Protests
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Labor Leader Released on Bond: Rallies across the country have been held in support of David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California, who was arrested and apparently injured during a protest over an immigration raid. He was released on a $50,000 bond.
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Lessons From International Protests: Social scientists who study protest movements say the scenes unfolding in California broadly follow a script that has played out many times in other countries. Experts say these lessons can help make sense of what is unfolding in Los Angeles.
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Inflamed Tensions: Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said that the Trump administration and its immigration raids were to blame for inflaming tensions in the city. Bass struggled amid criticism of her initial response to the city’s fires, but the opposition to the raids have offered her an opportunity.
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California Lawsuit: The state of California filed suit against the Trump administration over its move to take control of the state’s National Guard and deploy troops to Los Angeles to protect immigration enforcement agents.
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Fake Images and Conspiracy Theories: Misleading photographs, videos and text have spread widely on social media as protests against immigrant raids have unfolded in Los Angeles, rehashing old conspiracy theories and expressing support for Trump’s actions.
Mr. Higby’s posts, which have amassed millions of views in recent days, blur the line between reporting and advocacy. He sometimes posts video updates about police movements, and other times repeats Mr. Trump’s rhetoric about how “LA NEEDS THE NATIONAL GUARD,” in attempts to stoke outrage.