In one version, tens of thousands of protesters are marching to force accountability on the US justice system, shining a light on policing policies that protect white lives and property above anything else—and are being met with the same brutality and indifference they are protesting against. In the other, driven by Donald Trump, US attorney general Bill Barr, and the MAGA coalition, an alternative narrative contends that anti-fascist protesters are traveling by bus and plane to remote cities and towns to wreak havoc. This notion is inspiring roving gangs of mostly white vigilantes to take up arms.
These armed activists are demographically very similar to those who spread misinformation and confusion about the pandemic; the same Facebook groups have spread hoaxes about both; it’s the same older Republican base that shares most fake news.
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Source: Protest misinformation is riding on the success of pandemic hoaxes | MIT Technology Review