"In December, the YouTuber Nick Shirley uploaded a video purporting to expose a scheme led by Somali refugees in Minneapolis. It caught the attention of Vice President JD Vance, who shared the video online. Soon after, ICE was deployed to the city. The video was inspiring to Amy Reichert, a 58-year-old San Diego resident, who started making her own videos claiming a similar scheme was afoot in her city."
"She is one of many creators channeling populist rage and elite resentment into a style of posting. It's a mode of practicing politics some are calling slopulism. Ms. Reichert doesn't like to call herself a right-wing influencer. She has a sizable following on social media (some 60,000 followers on X, and 80,000 on Instagram), where she posts videos of herself talking about what in her view is corruption in the Democratic-leaning city government of San Diego, usually while wearing rose-tinted aviator sunglasses."
Conservative influencers produce videos alleging fraud, often focusing on immigrant communities and local government programs. Viral videos can reach prominent politicians and trigger official responses, including federal immigration enforcement. Individual creators replicate and amplify such claims, gaining substantial social followings while presenting investigations and allegations as evidence. The phenomenon channels populist anger and resentment toward elites into a confrontational online political practice dubbed slopulism. Some creators are licensed investigators who pivot their professional skills into content alleging taxpayer fraud in city services like child care. These posts blend accusation, spectacle, and political mobilization, raising risks of misinformation and real-world enforcement actions.
Read at www.nytimes.com
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