A recent White House roundtable on antifa featured a group of rightwing influencers who make a living filming themselves confronting leftwing protesters, rather than independent experts on antifascism. The briefing, which helped shape President Donald Trump’s understanding of the issue, included eight current or former employees of the conservative advocacy organisation Turning Point USA.
These content creators, who describe themselves as “independent journalists”, produce videos from protests in Portland and Chicago that frame leftwing protesters as nefarious or ridiculous. None presented evidence to support the administration’s claim that antifa activists are “terrorists”. Instead, they shared personal stories of having been victimised by leftwing protesters.
Extremism researcher Jared Holt said on his podcast that the influencers’ role is “to make these viral clips that they can show on Fox News and scare your grandpa into thinking antifa is on the verge of a mass slaughter, and that Mr Trump is the only man who can put an end to this by sending the military to go crack some skulls”.
