Latest news with #paidprotesters
Russia Today
17-07-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Rent-a-crowd CEO lifts lid on US protest industry's ‘dirty secrets'
Political protests in the US are rarely acts of pure conviction, according to Adam Swart, CEO of a prominent publicity firm that supplies paid demonstrators for political and corporate events. Swart, who founded Crowds on Demand in 2012, revealed what was described as the 'dirty secrets' of his profession in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. His company recruits and manages individuals who appear at rallies, protests, and public events on behalf of paying clients. Swart argued that compensating activists is not unethical. He said the service allows people to engage in causes they support but might not otherwise be able to attend. 'All activism is what I call incentivized activism,' he said. 'We compensate people for having their views known, but most people who attend demonstrations have some reason for being there other than the so-called purity of their beliefs.' Swart offered examples to bolster his claim, including the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. 'How many real housewives went out to protest for [the Black Lives Matter campaign] in the summer of 2020?' he said. 'Do you think it's because they cared about institutional racism? Or do you think it's to flex on social media?' He added that labor unions sometimes pressure members to attend demonstrations, with threats of less favorable work shifts, and political aides are often expected to take part in campaign events during their personal time. Paid demonstrators typically earn several hundred dollars per day, according to Swart. Nationwide publicity campaigns, he said, can cost millions. He noted that he recently turned down a $20 million offer from political interests opposed to US President Donald Trump. Swart emphasized that his rejection of the offer was not driven by ideology but by concerns that the campaign's likely failure would damage his firm's reputation. 'The problem is that these are the same consultant class who propped up [former US President Joe] Biden, who propped up [former Vice President] Kamala Harris, who fundamentally failed so miserably in the 2024 election, and who have failed every single day since then in reigning in Trump's agenda,' he said.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump fans targets Crowds on Demand for alleged role in anti-ICE protests despite MAGA-friendly CEO's denials
Donald Trump have taken to social media to allege that a company called Crowds on Demand has been supplying paid protesters to the anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles and Saturday's nationwide 'No Kings' marches to bolster their numbers. However, CEO Adam Swart has been busily making the rounds of MAGA-aligned media outlets to correct the false narrative around the 'paid protest industry.' Right-wingers on X have insisted, without evidence, that the numbers turning out to oppose ICE and President Trump are routinely bolstered by hired operatives supplied by Swart's company. Crowds on Demand is 'currently fielding high demands for the anti-ICE show,' one user confidently asserted last week. At the same time, another jokingly congratulated a liberal celebrating the 'No Kings' turnout by saying the company 'really came thru for you guys.' Others have breezily suggested its activities are bankrolled by billionaire George Soros, a favorite all-purpose bogeyman of the right. However, the official website for Crowds on Demand, founded by Swart in October 2012, promises only 'impactful advocacy campaigns, demonstrations, PR stunts, crowds for hire and corporate events.' It elaborates: 'We are best known for organizing passionate demonstrations, rallies, flash-mobs, corporate PR events, and light-hearted events such as paparazzi, brand ambassadors, and PR stunts.' Attempting to combat the misinformation, Swart appeared on One America News Network (OANN) last week and said flatly: 'The fact is that we are not involved. 'Of course we get contacted in regards to practically every social movement out there but that doesn't mean we take on these types [of assignments].' He said Crowds on Demand had not sent any activists-for-hire to Los Angeles 'because it involves illegal activity and we do not engage in any form of illegal activity – of course, no violence, no vandalism, and no blocking streets without a permit.' 'I want to completely disassociate myself and Crowds on Demand with what you see going on,' Swart continued, adding that scenes of demonstrators confronting law enforcement were 'more like guerrilla warfare than protest.' Pushed by OANN anchor Dan Ball to say who he believed was 'funding' the demonstrations, Swart evaded the question, saying only that, in his opinion, the participants were nihilistic 'psychopaths' bent on sowing anarchy. Swart has also appeared on podcasts hosted by Newsmax presenter Greg Kelly and boxer David Nino Rodriguez, as well as local radio, to make the same points about this month's clashes in California, and has previously appeared on Fox News and NewsNation. He appears to have an unlikely ally in Elon Musk 's artificial intelligence tool Grok, which recently debunked attacks on his company by ruling: 'The claim that liberals are paid to march lacks credible evidence of a widespread conspiracy. 'Paid protesting exists, with services like Crowds on Demand hired by various groups, including for liberal causes, but it's not exclusive to liberals. 'Most protests, like the 2017 Women's March, appear grassroots, driven by genuine sentiment. The claim is often used rhetorically to discredit protests without solid proof. While some paid participation occurs, no systematic evidence supports the conspiracy.'
