Despite deaths, evacuations and danger alerts from weather services, many American content creators traveled to California to stage in front of the fires. Among them, Trumpist activists and/or white supremacists.
In search of spectacular images, these extremist figures of influence sometimes go as close as possible to the fires. In the heat of the moment, some go so far as to pretend to be firefighters.
This is the case of Anthony Aguero, self-proclaimed independent journalist and “border expert”. According to Wiredthe streamer has a habit of broadcasting live images from the border between the United States and Mexico and spreading anti-migrant disinformation. This Monday, January 13, he went to Los Angeles. The activist, who claims to be part of the populist “America First” movement, documented his adventure on X. “I went to action and I became a firefighter for a few minutes, he tweeted. I don’t understand how no onecould have tried tostop this fire, it took a guy from Texas toStop.”
These extremist activists, present on site, take advantage of the sensationalism offered by the Californian situation. On the social networks of Ryan Sanchez, nationalist and supremacist activistclicks are pouring in more than usual. The activist opened funds on his various accounts to allow his community to finance his actions. He recently said that his group “received much more support than expected” since his arrival in Santa Monica (city in Los Angeles County).
According to certain experts on the American extreme right who spoke with The Wired, these activists are engaged in “disaster tourism” to actually advance their goals. Ryan Sanchez assured that the donations were made to the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, a place dedicated to military veterans. However, the establishment has not confirmed the veracity of this information.
In the flames, the propaganda of far-right ideology
Freddy Cruz, manager of the monitoring and training program at Western States Centeran anti-racist organization, explains that according to him, the real issue of these stagings is not monetary. He deciphers: “This is likely a recruitment drive, as has been the case with increasing frequency over the last year, during which far-right groups have engaged in disaster tourism.”
A theory that another publication by Ryan Sanchez seems to attest. In a message published on Telegram and X, he announces: “We will no longer be accepting donations starting tomorrow, but if you are still interested in volunteering, please contact us.”
Another consequence of the presence of far-right streamers and content creators in California is the significant dissemination of fake news and MAGA propaganda (Make America Great AgainTrump’s slogan). A seventeen-minute documentary, produced by two streamers known in the nationalist sphere, has already been published. Wired assures us: the film is filled with misinformation about the origins of the fires and the work of the Los Angeles firefighters.
Source: www.slate.fr
