Trump's troops, Soros's bricks: Lies flood socials - What's behind LA protests?

Time of India

a day ago

As thousands march across Los Angeles to oppose sweeping immigration raids, another battle is raging online - one of doctored photos, misleading videos, and conspiracy theories that blur fact and fiction, stoking division and chaos, a New York Times report said.
The protests began Friday following the arrest of more than 40 immigrants at workplaces across the city. What started with chants and peaceful rallies has escalated into clashes, military deployments, and a digital storm of disinformation that, according to experts, is not only distorting the reality on the ground but accelerating the unrest.
Protests spark over raids, Federal troop deployment
Crowds have gathered in downtown LA and beyond since Friday, outraged by the federal immigration sweeps and the arrest of labor leader David Huerta, who has since been released on bond.
Protesters have blocked streets, linked arms outside detention centers, and waved Latin American flags in defiance of Trump's policies and rhetoric.
By Monday, the protests entered a volatile fourth day. Despite mostly peaceful rallies, law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up groups in downtown LA where violence flared - including burning self-driving Waymo cars and assaults on police.
The federal response was swift and controversial: 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have now been deployed to LA, without the consent of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the move "reckless" and sued the Trump administration to block it.
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'This isn't about public safety,' Newsom posted on X. 'It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego.'
Online disinformation campaigns stoke the fire
As tensions rose on the streets, misinformation exploded across social media - often faster than journalists and officials could respond, the NYT report said.
Darren L Linvill, a researcher at Clemson University, described how right-wing influencers were 'building up the riots in a performative way' to validate Trump's framing of Los Angeles as a war zone.
'As they direct attention to it,' he noted, 'more protesters will show up.'
One viral post falsely claimed that pallets of bricks had been left near ICE buildings for 'Democrat militants' to launch attacks. The photo was traced to a Malaysian construction supplier - a recycled hoax from past protest cycles. Still, it reached over 800,000 views before being tagged with a Community Note.
Actor James Woods reposted a fabricated Obama quote and 2020 riot footage, presenting them as proof of a left-wing plot.
Other users shared out-of-context stills from films like Blue Thunder to claim Marines were 'engaging in combat downtown.'
According to the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, these narratives aren't new - but their reappearance signals coordinated attempts to discredit protests and depict them as orchestrated insurgencies.
'It's catnip for right-wing agitators and grifters,' the Lab posted.
Conspiracies target leaders and amplify division
The conspiracy theories didn't stop at bricks or movie clips. Influencers on X and Truth Social claimed - without evidence - that LA Mayor Karen Bass had CIA ties and helped spark the unrest. The claim relied solely on her role on the board of the National Endowment for Democracy.
Even more far-fetched accusations targeted financier George Soros, long a bogeyman in far-right narratives. Soros was baselessly blamed for funding the protests, a theory bolstered by anonymous and foreign-linked accounts.
Some of the loudest voices, including Trump himself, labeled protesters as 'Paid Insurrectionists.' Russian nationalist Aleksandr Dugin echoed the theme, claiming, 'It is nationwide conspiracy of liberals against not only Trump but against American people in general.'
Nora Benavidez, of the media watchdog Free Press, said the disinformation was no accident: 'Information warfare is always a symptom of conflict, stoked often by those in power to fuel their own illiberal goals.'
A test case for Trump's power play?
Critics argue that the chaos in LA is being used to justify sweeping federal power. President Trump has suggested that similar troop deployments could happen 'everywhere,' fueling concerns that he may invoke the Insurrection Act to clamp down on civil dissent.
President Trump's decision to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles - without the consent of California's governor - marks one of the most aggressive assertions of federal power over a state in recent history.
Critics say it's not just about immigration enforcement - it's about setting a precedent.
'This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted,' Governor Gavin Newsom said in a viral post. 'He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard.'
The legal mechanism Trump invoked - a rarely used clause allowing deployment in the face of 'rebellion' - has only been triggered once in modern US history without a governor's request, during the 1965 Selma marches.
Trump's move is even more provocative given that Los Angeles officials, including Police Chief Jim McDonnell, say local law enforcement has the situation under control.
California has filed a lawsuit challenging the deployment. Attorney General Rob Bonta called it 'a trampling of state sovereignty,' arguing that no actual rebellion or invasion exists - conditions required for Trump's order to be lawful.
Behind the scenes, legal scholars warn that Trump may be laying the groundwork to invoke the Insurrection Act - a far more extreme measure that would allow the military to directly enforce civilian law.
Trump hasn't formally done so, but he and his allies have repeatedly labeled the protests 'insurrections,' echoing language he's used before to justify force.
The framing is no accident. Stephen Miller, Trump's top immigration advisor, called the protests 'a battle for the survival of Western civilization.' Trump has claimed Los Angeles would have been 'obliterated' without his intervention. He's also floated the arrest of Newsom, fueling accusations of authoritarian overreach.
'These moves aren't just about LA - they're about testing the boundaries,' Todd Belt, political science professor at George Washington University, told AFP. 'If Trump can override a state on immigration protests, what stops him from doing the same in another city over gun laws, abortion rights, or education policy?'
Critics argue that Trump is staging a made-for-TV crackdown to energize his base. His deployment order came just hours before attending a UFC fight - an arena he has used to project toughness.
And with his 79th birthday military parade in Washington looming, the timing appears more symbolic than strategic.
'Trump knows the optics,' said Hina Shamsi of the ACLU. 'Deploying troops, calling governors criminals, labeling protesters 'paid insurrectionists' - it's all designed to project dominance and distract from the actual issues.'
The fear among civil liberties groups, legal experts, and Democratic leaders is that what's happening in Los Angeles could become a template - not an anomaly.