The Minneapolis City Council voted to approve paying social media influencers to spread city-approved messaging during the upcoming murder trial over George Floyd’s death.
The city will pay six influencers $2,000 each to spread “city-generated and approved messages” among communities that are predominantly black, Hispanic, Native American, as well as other racial demographics, during the trials of the former officers involved in Floyd’s death.
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,” the Minneapolis City Council said in a statement. “It’s also an opportunity to create more two-way communication between the City and communities.”
The move comes as part of a $1 million communications and de-escalation plan, which the council approved on Friday. Derek Chauvin’s trial is slated to begin next month, with the other three officers’ trials beginning in August.
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City activists, however, have voiced displeasure with the move, worrying the messaging won’t be “truthful.”
“It’s just really hard believing they will be truthful, given how they have treated our families in the past,” said Toshira Garraway of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence. “We don’t know if we’re actually getting and receiving the truth. The State of Minnesota has broken the trust of the communities within this state.”
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“The key word here is ‘city-approved,’” Toussaint Morrison told local outlet WCCO. “What do you think the message is going to be? It’s going to be pro-city, it’s going to be anti-protest.”
Minneapolis and cities across the nation were rocked with protests and riots this past year following Floyd’s death, sparking calls to defund the police over accusations rampant racism within law enforcement.
