Conservative Accounts Cite Craigslist Ad to Falsely Claim ‘Hands Off’ Protesters Were Paid to March
By Hannah Mark
What happened: Conservative social media users are falsely claiming that anti-Trump protesters at the April 5 “Hands Off!” rally in Los Angeles were paid to demonstrate, citing multiple Craigslist advertisements as supposed proof.
Context: The Los Angeles rally was one of at least 1,400 “Hands Off!” rallies held nationwide to protest the Trump administration that collectively drew millions of protesters, according to news accounts.
A closer look: One of the earliest instances of the claim that protesters were paid was an April 7 X post by pro-Trump user @WallStreetApes, which included a screenshot of six Craigslist ads related to the Los Angeles “Hands Off!” rally.
@WallStreetApes added the caption: “PAID TO PROTEST positions are being posted to Craigslist. A huge amount of the new positions being posted everywhere ARE TO PROTEST ‘CASH PAID.’” The post garnered 205,000 views and 3,900 likes in two days.
Pro-MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reposted the @WallStreetApes post on X and stated: “The left always pays protesters and here’s the proof!! Meanwhile, we never had to hire anyone to attend and support President Trump at his huge rallies!” The post received 109,000 views and 2,200 likes in one day.
Actually: The ads sought people to sell merchandise at the rally, not to join in the protest, NewsGuard found.
Typical ads were titled “HANDS OFF! ANTI-TRUMP PROTEST MERCH SALES TEAM - CASH PAID!” and “Sell Protest and Resistance products and Protest rallies in your area.”
A review of Los Angeles-area Craigslist posts did not find any advertisements offering to hire protesters for the “Hands Off!” rally.