Minneapolis City Council Will Pay Social Media ‘Influencers’ For George Floyd Propaganda

Money that could be better spent on hiring more cops.

The city of Minneapolis could be on the verge of exploding into violence and riots again when the trial for the former police officer whose arrest of black criminal and drug George Floyd resulted in the unfortunate death of the black man who would become a martyr to the radical left.

Video of Derek Chauvin’s kneeling on Floyd’s neck triggered an eruption of widespread mayhem as cities experienced burning and looting from coast to coast with the worst of the damage taking place in Minneapolis.

The streets of Minnesota’s largest city were taken over by mobs who left destruction in their wake with large swarths resembling the rubble-strewn area of third-world countries including numerous minority-owned businesses that were laid to waste.

The city’s socialist-controlled government reacted to the carnage by demanding the dissolution and defunding of the police, a decision that has done lasting damage and left Minneapolis poorly prepared for another round of riots if the jury fails to convict Chauvin on murder charges.

Now the city council has another genius idea and approved spending over $1 million on “communication with the community” for the trial that included the hiring of at least six social media “influencers” to act as propagandists.

Via Minneapolis CBS affiliate WCCO, “Minneapolis To Hire 6 ‘Influencers’ To Spread City-Approved Messaging To Public During Derek Chauvin Trial”:

Minneapolis authorities are investing in six social media influencers, with a large local following, to help push their message and prevent riots during the murder trial of a fired police officer. On Friday, the Minneapolis City Council approved $1,181,500 for communication with the community during the trial.

The City says the six influencers will be intentionally targeting Black, Native American, Somali, Hmong and Latinx communities with their messaging during the trial. Each influencer will be paid a flat fee of $2,000.

According to the city council’s statement:

“The City is collaborating with social media partners to share public information with cultural communities and to help dispel potential misinformation during the upcoming trials of the former officers involved in the killing of George Floyd. The goal is to increase access to information to communities that do not typically follow mainstream news sources or City communications channels and/or who do not consume information in English. It’s also an opportunity to create more two-way communication between the City and communities. The recommendations for which social media messengers to partner with come from the City’s Neighborhood and Community Relations staff. The agreements with the social media partners have not been finalized. The City is adhering to procurement requirements for the selection and contracting processes.”

The announcement has already stirred controversy with activists upset that the “influencers” will be discouraging “mostly peaceful” protests like the ones that left areas looking like bombed-out Beirut last summer.

There is also the possibility that the idea could spectacularly backfire as it was “influencers” that used social media to instigate rioters and to fan the flames of racial unrest after the Floyd-Chauvin video went viral.

The city council is probably sadly mistaken if they believe that paying for their propaganda to be spread on social media is any substitute for a serious police presence but they will see whether or not their grand idea works when put to the test next month.