Trump wants to control cities. Influencers give him the fuel to do so

The third right-wing influencer that Trump has been pointing to as being on the receiving end of alleged anti-fascist attacks is likely Andy Ngo, another Post-millennial Right-wing blogger and influencer, who was also present on Wednesday. NGOs have spent years attending protests across the country to portray and define the right-wing narrative of Antifa as a domestic terrorist threat. Ngo spent years targeting Mark Bray, a Rutgers University historian and author Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook. Following social media posts by a number of right-wing influencers, including Ngo and Bray He is now trying to flee the United States After receiving death threats.

Samuel Woolley, a researcher who studies digital propaganda at the University of Pittsburgh, believes that blurring the lines between state messaging and influencer content serves a strategic purpose. “Politicians and government officials will use influential people as a way to legitimize the information they disseminate or the actions they take,” he says. “Too often, influencers are now being used to create the illusion of popularity for certain ideas to create consensus around those ideas.”

The feedback loop created by these influencers that has benefited the Trump administration is best exemplified by Johnson’s X account. Johnson, a right-wing content creator and former Turning Point USA contributor, shared clips from his trip to Portland with Noem, including a video of the secretary Supplication at the beginning of the meeting And then interrogate someone He was allegedly an immigrant In the back of a government vehicle. From there, those clips are reposted and sometimes shared by other right-wing content creators Posted on TV news. In this case it was Johnson He was interviewed by Newsmax about his experience In Portland on Wednesday.

“Kristi Noem had to walk into the building with armored men standing next to her, because the left is so violent here. Every time we came or went, the streets had to be cleared of left-wing protesters,” Johnson told Newsmax. “They spat on the vehicles. They shouted at us.”

These creatives were among the few media figures allowed to tour the Portland ICE facility. On Wednesday, The Oregonian reported that its reporters were denied access to the facility despite several conservative news outlets and creatives being granted access. The newspaper first requested access on September 25. Eight days later, Fox News correspondent Bill Melogen filmed a report on the roof of the facility. The newspaper’s reporters tried again on October 6, but received no answer. Three days ago, Daviscourt toured the building.

“They can be used as a conduit to spread fabricated stories or push certain propaganda messages,” Woolley says of these right-wing creators. “They are incredibly strong.”

The Trump administration has created a seamless loop of policy inspiring content and policy inspiring new content while the government performs its own justification in real time. First comes the shoe on the ground. Then comes the content. Rinse and repeat.