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Right wingers are trying to chase down roving bands of "Antifa" only to come up empty
Last edited Wed Jun 10, 2020, 02:51 AM - Edit history (1)
How The Antifa Fantasy Spread In Small Towns Across The U.S.Rumors of roving bands of Antifa have followed small protests all over the United States. Why are people so ready to believe them?
The rumor that shadowy leftists planned to start trouble in Great Falls, Montana, first appeared on the Facebook group of the Montana Liberty Coalition late last Wednesday afternoon.
“Heads up,” a man named Wayne Ebersole, who owns a local cover crop business, wrote. “Rumor has it that Antifa has scheduled a protest in Great Falls Friday evening at 5 p.m. in front of the Civic Center.” He asked the group if anyone had any more information, or if anyone was available to “protect businesses.”
“It has been confirmed through the police department,” one commenter replied. “They have a permit for tomorrow night and are in town now.”
They weren’t. Police later said they had been “working to quell the rumor.” But that didn’t stop it from sweeping across various right-wing groups. Within 24 hours, a screenshot of Ebersole’s post had been posted to the Facebook Group for the Montana Militia, whose members have recently dedicated themselves to tracking the perceived threat of antifa all over the state, including coordinating armed responses to “protect” their towns. (Ebersole did not respond to a request for comment.)
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As protests against police brutality and in support of Black Lives Matter continue to proliferate across the small towns and rural communities, so, too, have rumors of white vans of masked antifa driving from town to town, reportedly intent on destruction. In Hood River, Oregon, antifa were, according to screenshot of a fake Instagram story, calling on followers to “root loot do anything in your power.” In Spring Hill, Tennessee, there was a “busload” staying at the Holiday Inn, prepping to loot Walgreens at noon. In Wenatchee, Washington, bands of men dressed in black were surveilling potential targets. In Payette, Idaho, a plane full of protesters was circling overhead. In Honolulu, antifa had been flown in from the mainland. In Billings, Montana, some claimed agitators had been spotted by the National Guard. In Nebraska, they were creating Craigslist ads offering to pay people $25 a day to “cause as much chaos and destruction as possible.” In Sisters, Oregon, they were planning to show up at the local Bi-Mart.
To be clear: All of these rumors were false. They were all, as the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office put it, “fourth-hand information.”
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Read more:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/antifa-rumors-george-floyd-protests
23 replies
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by extension a number of their satellites such as NK.
I suspect Russia and China are the only power entities with the resources to spread very similar disinformation into areas across the U.S. that quickly. In several cases, the false info was sent to police departments - knowing that would give it credibility once repeated. The rubes then jump in with both feet.
Russia and others know they can lead our deplorables around like puppy dogs on a leash......
Our intelligence agencies probably know where this vile stuff originates but it takes real leadership at the top to use that data for eliminating the problem.
Trump and his minions don't want it to stop.....
