While daily life continues with relative normalcy for most residents of Los Angeles, social media platforms tell a far more chaotic — and often misleading — story. Online, days-old footage, AI-generated videos, and conspiracy theories are being circulated widely, creating a false narrative of a city engulfed in violence and disorder.
One widely viewed TikTok video, now removed, showed an AI-generated “National Guardsman” named Bob preparing for a gas attack on protesters. Despite many viewers flagging it as fake, it racked up nearly a million views before being debunked by the BBC.
Meanwhile, partisan accounts on platforms like X and TikTok are preying on public fears, amplifying old footage and fabricating content for clicks and clout.
According to Renée DiResta, a disinformation expert at Georgetown University, the digital chaos echoes the misinformation surge during the 2020 George Floyd protests. But in 2025, AI tools and fractured online communities have made it harder than ever to distinguish fact from fiction.
Viral falsehoods range from a fabricated report about Mexican military intervention to recycled protest videos misrepresented as current events. Senator Ted Cruz, for example, shared a 2020 video of police cars on fire, believing it depicted Sunday’s unrest.
California Governor Gavin Newsom quickly corrected the record, urging the public to verify sources before sharing.
Foreign state media outlets from Russia and China have also jumped into the fray. According to analysts, they’re using both real and fake imagery to undermine U.S. credibility abroad. One photo shared by Russian outlet Sputnik, claiming to show bricks staged for rioting, was actually from a New Jersey construction site.
In today’s fractured media landscape, the divide between reality on the ground and the chaos online is not only growing — it’s being deliberately manipulated.
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