MAGA media wages asymmetric warfare on antifa

MAGA media is flexing its ability to shape the debate over antifa and violent crime in American cities, empowered by allies in the White House hungry for evidence of left-wing terrorism.Why it matters: The Trump administration is using clips of violent street clashes — paired with testimony from MAGA-aligned reporters on the ground — to depict Democratic-led cities as engulfed in chaos.President Trump has described Portland, Ore., for example, as "war-ravaged" — contradicting local law enforcement officials who say the National Guard is not needed.Footage of bloody brawls and masked agitators, amplified by MAGA influencers, helps Trump make his case. Videos of peaceful protests and costumed pranksters get waved away as liberal propaganda.Driving the news: Reporters within the right's sprawling media ecosystem have fanned out to protest flashpoints, documenting violent encounters and clashes with police.They frame their coverage as exposing the "truth" mainstream outlets ignore — pumping out clips that quickly spread across MAGA media and into Trump's own social feeds.Some of the reporters have become part of the story themselves: The Post Millennial's Katie Daviscourt and independent journalist Nick Sortor both say they were attacked by protesters in Portland.Days later, they were seated at the White House — participating in an extraordinary roundtable on antifa that underscored the tight feedback loop between MAGA media and Trump's inner circle.Sortor even presented Trump with a burned American flag that he says he confiscated from a protester in Portland, where he was arrested — and later cleared — as a result of the altercation."Why don't you give it to Pam [Bondi]? Give it to the attorney general and let's start prosecutions," Trump told Sortor, who has threatened to sue Portland's police department over his arrest.Zoom out: There's no denying that there has been violence at protests in Portland and other cities: Daviscourt was sporting a black eye at the White House forum that she says was inflicted by a protester.But data and law enforcement reports show that incidents remain limited and localized. Local officials say most demonstrations remain peaceful or quickly disperse, and reports of sustained violence are rare.Federal officials described the scene outside an immigration facility in Portland last month as "low energy" in the two days before Trump declared the city "under siege" by antifa.Yet clips of violent encounters dominate right-wing media — creating a perception of constant urban warfare that outpaces the reality on the ground. Journalist Nick Sortor holds up a burned American flag at a White House roundtable on antifa. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty ImagesA similar dynamic exists on the left: Liberal influencers share lighthearted protest scenes and carefree brunch crowds to mock the idea that antifa poses any real threat — or even exists."Journalists who were not captured by leftist propaganda went out to see what was happening for themselves," Libby Emmons, the Post Millenial's editor-in-chief, told Axios about the growing influence of MAGA-aligned reporters."As Americans turned off cable news and started scrolling social media instead, they were met with real-life accounts of violence and civil unrest that countered the suited pundits prime time talking points," she argued.Between the lines: Isolated acts of violence happen in cities across the country every day without prompting federal intervention. What sets this moment apart is conservative media's fixation on these clashes — and its uniquely receptive audience in the White House."It really does draw in a lot of people who are looking for riot porn," said Joan Donovan, a sociologist at Boston University. "They want something outrageous and salacious."Antifa, now designated as a domestic terror organization, has become the connective tissue linking Trump's law-and-order agenda with MAGA media's most viral content.The big picture: The relationship between MAGA media and the administration is symbiotic, particularly when it comes to the crackdown on antifa. Reporters on journalism's fringes gain coveted White House access and amplified reach, while the administration gains firsthand evidence of the disorder it wants to spotlight."I am proud to work for a President who bucks the fake news establishment media and welcomes independent journalists with open arms," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted alongside a photo of the roundtable attendees.The bottom line: Trump's worldview is shaped far more by visuals and instincts than by data, underscoring how central the information war has become to his presidency.After speaking with Oregon's governor about Portland last month, Trump told NBC: "I said, 'Well wait a minute, am I watching things on television that are different from what's happening? My people tell me different.""They are literally attacking and there are fires all over the place ... it looks terrible."

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