The city of Minneapolis plans to pay social media influencers to spread messages approved by the city as part of an effort to combat disinformation during the trials of the four police officers accused of the George Floyd murder, officials said.
Under the program, which the Minneapolis City Council approved on Friday, the city will sign contracts with six social media influencers who will receive $ 2,000 each to share “city-approved and generated messages” with African Americans, Native Americans and Eastern African, Hmong and Latino communities, officials said.
The program, reported by The Minnesota Reformer on Friday, represents a new use of social media influencers, who have been paid for years to sell products like cosmetics and beach holidays. In that case, social media influencers will try to combat online misinformation, where rumors can spread quickly, igniting tensions.
It is part of what the city calls the Joint Information System with the aim of creating various channels in the field and online to share “timely and relevant information” with the public during the trials. The program will involve partnerships with community groups and black-led media, as well as ethnic radio stations, officials said.
“The goal is to increase access to information for communities that do not normally follow the city’s main news sources or communication channels,” or who do not receive their news in English, said Sarah McKenzie, a city spokeswoman, via e- mail. “It is also an opportunity to create more two-way communication between the city and the communities.”
But the program is likely to encounter profound skepticism from residents who do not trust the city to convey true information about the trials of its former officers. The Minneapolis Police Department has a long history of allegations of abuse.
“It is very difficult to believe that they will speak the truth, given the way they have treated our families in the past,” said Toshira Garraway of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, a support group for the families of people killed by police in Minnesota. “We don’t know if we are really getting and getting the truth. The state of Minnesota has broken the trust of communities in this state. “
Michelle Gross, president of the United Communities Against Police Brutality, a voluntary police accountability organization, said the program appeared to be intended to manipulate the views of residents and activists.
“I don’t think it’s about dismantling falsehoods,” she said. “I think it’s about creating a narrative and controlling it. And I think people are going to see through that, frankly. “
The program passed while Minneapolis was preparing for trial next month for Derek Chauvin, the former white Minneapolis police officer who was seen on video kneeling for more than nine minutes on the neck of Mr. Floyd, a black man, while he begged for his life.
Floyd’s death last May sparked global protests against police brutality, some of which led to scenes of chaos in Minneapolis, with buildings burned and police using tear gas and shooting rubber bullets at crowds.
Mr. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and wrongful death. The selection of the jury is scheduled to begin on March 8. Three other former officers who were with Chauvin during Floyd’s final minutes are due to be tried on charges of aid and complicity in August.
Social media influencers will expand posts on the city’s social media, sharing them with their followers, officials said.
Minneapolis officials want to make sure that “we get the word out about what’s going on with the trials and what are the options for the community to get involved, especially communities that are not using, perhaps, the city’s website or other sources of traditional media ”Mark Ruff, the Minneapolis city coordinator, told the City Council on Friday.
Lisa Bender, the Mayor, noted that the trial would be broadcast live and said community groups have already started informing residents about the trial process.
“This is, I think, the city recognizing that much of this work is unpaid, and that the city must step up and provide resources to help finance it,” she told the Council. “I also think that when we are communicating about this, we need to acknowledge the damage that was done by the city in the first place, with the death of George Floyd, with the actions of our Police Department that followed.”
She acknowledged that “not everyone in our community trusts the city as a communicator”.
Despite the skepticism of many residents, Nicole A. Cooke, an associate professor at the School of Information Science at the University of South Carolina, said the program has “great potential, if done right.”
People are more likely to believe the information if it comes from a trusted source, she said, whether it’s a pastor or someone they follow on TikTok. “If I have a relationship with you and trust you, I am more willing and able to trust the information you give me,” she said.
The model is part of a long-standing tradition of leaders “going to those who are most respected in the community, especially when there are language problems,” said Professor Cooke. “So it is absolutely sensible to call on these people to send reliable messages.”
But if the city doesn’t recruit the right social media influencers, “the shot can backfire,” said Cooke.
“The perception of who the city thinks are social influencers and who the community thinks are social influencers can be different,” she said.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and activist in Minneapolis, said it is critical that the city clearly label all messages it conveys through paid social media influencers.
“I definitely don’t trust a random person who shows up and tries to tell me that this is what the city is doing and saying,” she said. “I think most of us will not be fooled if these messages come through.”