WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A Craigslist advertisement offered payment for people to protest and riot in Los Angeles.
OUR VERDICT
False. The advertisement was created as an unrelated prank.
AAP FACTCHECK - False and misleading claims about protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, including a prank that is being treated as truth, are spreading on social media.
Many of the posts reference longstanding conspiracy theories, including that people are being recruited and paid to protest, which often surface during periods of civil unrest.
Parts of Los Angeles have seen major protests against intensified raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, which have increased since US president Donald Trump returned to the White House.
The falsehoods are gaining traction on social media, including in Australia and New Zealand.
An Australian Facebook user shared a screenshot of a post on classified advertisements website Craigslist, claiming it showed evidence Los Angeles County was paying protesters.
"Los Angeles County is offering $6,500 to $12,500 a week to "EXTREMELY TOUGH, BRAINDEAD, EVIL BRAVE MEN" AND WOMEN for paid organized protesting, acting and rioting," the caption states.
However, the ad is not connected to the protests and was posted as part of a prank show called "Goofcon1".
It was posted to Craigslist on June 5, 2025 (Pacific Daylight Time), the day before protests began in the city.
The show's hosts, Joey LaFleur and Logan Quiroz, phoned people who responded to the ad for an episode of the show that was published on YouTube on June 7, 2025.
"So here is what I posted on Craigslist this week. The title is looking for the toughest badasses in the city. And I posted one of these in Austin and I posted one in Los Angeles," Mr LaFleur says (video mark 9 minutes 25 seconds).
Mr LaFleur told the Associated Press he had no idea it was going to be connected to the protests.
"It was a really weird coincidence," he said.
Other posts have falsely claimed Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum called for the protests, after ICE raids targeted suburbs with large Latino populations.
A June 11 Facebook post includes a video of Ms Sheinbaum giving a speech where she says: "If necessary, we'll mobilise. We don't want taxes on remittances from our fellow countrymen. From the U.S. to Mexico," according to an English translation.
The speech occurred at a May 24, 2025, press conference, 13 days before the protests began.
Her comments did not address the ICE raids. Instead, they were in relation to a 3.5 per cent tax proposed by the Trump administration on income sent by Mexican immigrants in the US to their families in Mexico.
A post on X also stated that Mexico is considering "military intervention", but the claim did not come from a reputable account and no credible news reports support this.
Ms Sheinbaum said in a statement on social media that she condemned violent demonstrations and denied encouraging violent protests in LA.
Other fake news reports spread online, including a June 9 X post that said LA Mayor Karen Bass had fled the city, fearing military arrest.
The claim was made by an account associated with a website known for sharing fabricated news stories, according to PolitiFact.
Mayor Bass spoke at a press conference in LA on June 10 (PDT time) where she announced a curfew for certain parts of the city.
Disinformation about the protests is also being fuelled by artificial intelligence (AI), including one video that claims to show a National Guard officer filming a "behind the scenes look".
Key signs the video was created using AI include blurry figures in the background that disappear.
A logo on the car incorrectly says "LAPC" instead of "LAPD" and does not match the department's official emblems, while traffic lights simultaneously show red and green lights.
The US National Guard issued a statement confirming the video is an AI fake.
Other videos and photos are being shared out of context.
Footage of a burning police car is being shared widely on X and was reposted by Texas representative Ted Cruz, who added: This…is…not…peaceful."
However, a reverse image search shows the clip was filmed five years earlier.
News outlets KNBC-TV and Sky News UK published the footage in May 2020, which captured organised rallies against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd.
Social media users also shared a photo of bricks supposedly delivered to LA by organisations associated with George Soros, a financier and philanthropist often targeted by conspiracy theories.
"Alert: Soros funded organizations have ordered hundreds of pallets of bricks to be placed near ICE facilities to be used by Democrat militants against ICE agents and staff!! It's Civil War!!" the caption says.
However, a reverse image search reveals the image was originally posted on a Malaysian building materials wholesaler website.
False claims about the protests have also been debunked by AFP, PolitiFact and the Associated Press.
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