The demonstrations and the conflicting accounts surrounding them highlight the role social media plays in times of crisis.
In this case, social media appeared to play an even larger role as a growing number of users turned to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots – often with varying degrees of accuracy – to discern what was real and what was not.
“The past is prequel…everything we’re seeing is what we’ve seen in the past, simply in some cases with new technology applied,” said Darren Linvill, a researcher at Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub.
While accurate, real-time updates were published on the protests, so were posts containing fake images, conspiracy theories or misleading information that garnered hundreds of thousands of views online.
These posts were shared by various users, from smaller accounts to well-known political figures like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Cruz was among several on X to repost a video showing multiple police cars damaged or set ablaze. The Texas Republican shared the video to argue the protests in Los Angeles were not as peaceful as some Democrats claimed.
It was later revealed the video was not from this week, but from the protests over George Floyd’s death in 2020. A community note was eventually added clarifying it was old footage, prompting Cruz and others to delete the video.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)’s press office weighed in on the video writing on X, “Misinformation like this only adds to the chaos the Trump administration is seeking. Check your sources before sharing info!”
Other posts took images from video games or movies like Blue Thunder, which takes place in Los Angeles, to make it seem like there is a significant military presence in the city after President Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to quell the protests over the weekend.
“People believe what they want to believe and so when they are seeing information that confirms their prior beliefs, they’re going to repost it. They’re going to believe it…regardless of whether that information is true,” Linvill said.
Experts say the situation underscores the increasing influence social media has in shaping public opinion and the upped risks with AI in the mix.
Read more in a report Wednesday morning at TheHill.com
