An ongoing disinformation campaign aimed at antifa — shorthand for antifascist or antifascism — took a new turn Thursday as freshly created fake Twitter accounts spread false and inflammatory information about antifa’s plans for the Fourth of July.
One of the fake antifa accounts, @ANTIFA_DC, shared information suggesting antifascists were planning to disrupt a parade in Washington, D.C.
Other tweets from the fake antifa account espoused anti-American sentiment while some took on a more sinister tone. The fake D.C. antifa account also piggybacked off and shared news from a newly created fake Fox News account.
The fake Fox News account shared content including a fabricated tweet from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and a fabricated news story designed to look like it was a Fox News article. The headline of the article claimed an “antifa website” had called for “armed protest” at the Fourth of July parade in Washington, continuing a misleading narrative aimed at portraying antifascists as ultra-violent and dangerous.