Los Angeles Protests Amplified by Influencers and Online Creators

U.S. Protests

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Creators such as Cam Higby, who is conservative, have sometimes outnumbered traditional media outlets at the immigration protests. Their posts have gone viral.

By Eli Tan

Reporting from Los Angeles

As protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration stretched into their fifth day on Tuesday, social media creators have at times outnumbered the traditional press corps at rallies and have played an outsize role in sharing media about what has happened on the ground.

Outfitted with their own makeshift press helmets and vests, many creators — many of whom lean conservative — have livestreamed entire days of coverage and posted to social platforms like X and streaming sites like Twitch and YouTube. During some of the week’s most violent moments, Trump officials like Stephen Miller and billionaires like Elon Musk chose to amplify what the creators published, causing the posts to go viral and feeding the narrative that the violence has been out of control.

President Trump said Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and others were not in control of the protests, and called for National Guard troops to intervene. Mr. Newsom has said the troops were unnecessary and has filed an emergency motion to stop the Trump administration from sending the troops. At least 150 protesters have been arrested since Friday, officials said.

Among the creators at the protests was Cam Higby, 25, a journalist and political commentator for the conservative digital outlet Today Is America. He flew to Los Angeles from his home in Washington State on Friday after seeing videos of the demonstrations on X.

On Monday night, he livestreamed from the front lines of the protests alongside another online creator and friend, Aldo Buttazoni, 25. Mr. Higby and Mr. Buttazoni previously worked for the conservative media outlet Prager U and brand themselves as “America First 🇺🇸.” Much of their content comes in the form of rebuttals to Democratic officials like the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, or Mr. Newsom.

Mr. Higby’s posts, which have amassed millions of views in recent days, blur the line between reporting and advocacy. He sometimes posts video updates about police movements, and other times repeats Mr. Trump’s statements about how “LA NEEDS THE NATIONAL GUARD,” in attempts to stoke outrage.

“I would call it a duality: I do on-the-ground reporting, and I also commentate on issues,” Mr. Higby said.

With a limited number of reporters in Los Angeles, Fox News tapped Mr. Higby and Mr. Buttazoni for unpaid television appearances over the weekend, cutting to them for live updates.

Liberal protesters who recognized Mr. Higby and Mr. Buttazoni berated them publicly, and Mr. Buttazoni eventually took off any identifying badges with his name from his clothes. Mr. Higby said he received enough “credible threats” on social media that he paid $3,000 to hire two bodyguards.

Left-leaning creators like the Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, 33, have also reported from rallies in Los Angeles, though in seemingly smaller numbers. Mr. Piker’s Twitch stream on Monday from the same Los Angeles protest that Mr. Higby attended lasted eight hours and received 1.4 million views.

Andrew Callaghan, a Los Angeles journalist and the creator of the media company Channel 5 News, which also covered the protests, said the market for protest and riot videos was born during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations of 2020. But it has exploded since, with some right-wing creators using the “independent” label even though they are partisan, he added.

“They don’t have a boss, so they can say they’re independent, but they’re following the exact same incentive structures as the conservative establishment media,” Mr. Callaghan said in an interview. “Click bait, key frames that don’t reflect the reality of the situation, doing whatever they can to absorb the audience that otherwise would be watching the same programming on Fox News.”

Eli Tan covers the Tech industry for The Times from San Francisco.

Use of Military: A federal judge ordered the administration to return control of the National Guard to the California governor. But he also ruled that it was premature to restrict the use of active-duty Marines.

Protests Go Beyond Immigration: Voices at the demonstrations are often a mix that includes calls for more explicit support for racial justice, Palestinian freedom and socialist politics.

Senator Forcibly Removed: Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, was shoved out of a room and handcuffed after he tried to question Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, during a news conference.

L.A. Protest History: As a city marked by fiery and full-throated protests, Los Angeles adds a new chapter to that history.

Newsom’s Speech: Gov. Gavin Newsom of California made the case in a televised address that Trump’s decision to send military forces to immigration protests in Los Angeles has put the nation at the precipice of authoritarianism. Elected officials, as well as social media influencers, had wide-ranging opinions of his speech. Read the full transcript.

Curfews: Los Angeles and Spokane, Wash., have turned to curfews to control unrest, but past measures, especially in 2020, have not always been effective.

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