Virtual Unrest: How Social Media Continues to Distort Los Angeles Protests

Offline, in real-world Los Angeles, most Angelenos are having a perfectly normal day. But online, the fires and riots are still raging.

Powerful algorithms that fuel social media platforms are feeding users days-old and sometimes completely fabricated content about recent unrest in L.A., creating a perception of nonstop crisis that simply doesn’t exist beyond a small part of the sprawling city.

Unvetted accounts on platforms like X and TikTok, apparently seeking clicks, influence and chaos, have capitalized on the political fears of both liberals and conservatives about where last weekend’s clashes might lead.

One particularly troubling example involves an AI-generated fake video on TikTok that claimed to show a National Guardsman named Bob livestreaming his preparation for “today’s gassing” of protesters. The video garnered over 960,000 views before being removed. While many commenters recognized it as fake, others appeared to believe the fabricated content, despite BBC News having debunked it.

“What’s happening on social media is similar to the chaos of the information environment around the 2020 George Floyd protests,” explained Renée DiResta, an associate research professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy who specializes in online conspiracy theory spread. “People are trying to discern between real current footage and recycled sensational old footage repurposed for political or financial ends.”

DiResta noted that in 2025, the challenge has intensified with more abundant AI-generated images and users scattered across different platforms “where different stories are being told.”

The political polarization of these platforms has exacerbated the problem. On X, where right-wing views predominate, influencers characterize anti-ICE protesters as agitators and terrorists. Meanwhile, on the more progressive Bluesky, prominent users condemn President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard.

Hyperpartisan accounts on X have dramatically overstated the actual scale of unrest in Southern California. One viral post falsely claimed that Mexico was considering “military intervention” in Los Angeles – a complete fabrication that nonetheless reached over 2 million viewers.

Conspiracy theories have flourished unchecked. Dozens of posts with over a million views each have spread baseless claims that protesters were government-backed or funded by various shadowy sources, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Only a handful have been fact-checked through X’s community notes feature.

Recognizing the dangerous potential of viral misinformation, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office issued a plea on Sunday night: “Check your sources before sharing info!”

The governor’s office has actively debunked specific falsehoods. When Senator Ted Cruz shared shocking footage of Los Angeles Police Department vehicles ablaze, writing “this… is… not… peaceful,” the video was actually from 2020 racial justice protests. Newsom directly responded: “This video is from 2020.”

Adding to the confusion, while vandals did damage several police cars and set some self-driving vehicles on fire Sunday evening, many viral images purportedly showing current destruction were from years ago.

Even federal government accounts have contributed to the misinformation. A Defense Department “rapid response” account on X claimed Monday morning that “Los Angeles is burning, and local leaders are refusing to respond” – despite no reports of fires in L.A. at that time.

Foreign state media have eagerly amplified images of the unrest, regardless of authenticity. Chinese state outlets have “rapidly seized on the deployment of Marines in the streets of Los Angeles,” according to analysis from the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy.

“PRC propaganda outlets have used protests in the United States to dent America’s image abroad and to suggest that the US government’s response to protests at home bears little resemblance to their support for protests overseas,” explained Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance.

Russian state-controlled outlet Sputnik circulated a photo purporting to show “pallets of bricks” at a protest site – actually from a construction site in New Jersey. Russian media have also echoed false claims about left-wing groups funding the protests.

Moscow “seems less interested in scoring propaganda points and more interested in throwing fuel into a combustible domestic information environment,” Schafer noted – a strategy that appears to be working as social media users struggle to separate fact from fiction in Los Angeles.