Lies, Bricks, and Deepfakes: ICE Protest Hoaxes in L.A.
Los Angeles is not a war zone, but you wouldn’t know that from viral posts claiming Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum “ordered riots” and that George Soros paid for pallets of bricks to be dropped near ICE facilities. In just 72 hours, a handful of high-engagement accounts pushed those lies to millions — out-ranking local reporters in search results and fueling calls for a National Guard surge.
Table of Contents
“It’s Civil War!! Soros bricks staged all over L.A.” — Benny Johnson, X post, 14 Jun 2025
Top Viral Claims — and the Reality Check
| False claim | First major spreader | Debunked by |
|---|---|---|
| “Soros-funded pallets of bricks” staged for riots | @bennyjohnson (3.5 M followers) | Snopes — 13 Jun 2025; CBS News — 11 Jun 2025 |
| Deep-faked speech of Pres. Sheinbaum endorsing violence | WLTReport.com | The Guardian — 10 Jun 2025 |
| Video of LAPD squad cars ablaze “proves city is burning” (actually 2020 footage) | James Woods & Sen. Ted Cruz | LA Times — 10 Jun 2025; CBS News — 11 Jun 2025 |
The brick photo came from a Malaysian building-materials catalogue, not downtown L.A. The Sheinbaum clip was shot at a Mexico City trade expo and trimmed to remove her explicit condemnation of violence. The burning-police-car video is from the George Floyd protests in May 2020—three years before the current unrest.
Why It Spread So Fast
- High-trust visuals. HD images and AI-enhanced video looked like live breaking news.
- Single-issue influencers. Benny Johnson, “End Wokeness,” and WLTReport generated almost two-thirds of total shares, according to NewsGuard’s June 2025 Misinformation Monitor.
- Algorithmic boosts. X’s “For You” tab prioritized posts containing “ICE,” “bricks,” and “Soros,” surfacing them above mainstream coverage within two hours.
Platform Response
X added Community Notes only after each hoax topped one million impressions. Meta labeled the brick image “False information” within six hours. TikTok removed several deep-fake protest clips outright—evidence that takedown speed still varies dramatically between platforms.
This disinformation barrage also highlights how inconsistent platform moderation still is. While TikTok acted within hours, X’s delay in labeling content allowed millions of users to engage with falsehoods. Experts warn that uneven enforcement enables viral manipulation, especially when bad actors know which platforms to exploit first.
Ground Truth on the Ground
City records show roughly 320 arrests between 8 and 12 June, almost all for curfew violations or property damage within a few downtown blocks. No pallets of bricks were found by LAPD or ICE.
Take-Home for Readers
- Run a reverse-image search on suspicious photos (Google Lens works on mobile in seconds).
- Look for at least one on-the-ground outlet (LA Times, LAist, KCET) before reposting “breaking” content.
- Report AI-generated content that lacks disclosure — major platforms now require
#AItags on synthetic media. - Verify account credibility — many viral disinfo posts came from accounts created recently or with usernames changed in the last 30 days.
Sources
- Snopes – “Did Democrats Buy Pallets of Bricks for LA Protesters?” 13 Jun 2025
- CBS News – “Fake videos and conspiracies fuel falsehoods about Los Angeles protests,” 11 Jun 2025
- The Guardian – “Misinformation about LA ICE protests swirls online,” 10 Jun 2025
- LA Times – “All of L.A. is not a ‘war zone,’” 10 Jun 2025 (updated 14 Jun 2025)
- ACLU-SoCal – Statement on ICE raids and arrests, 9 Jun 2025
