Influencers have been hired by the city of Minneapolis to spread information online during the trial of the officers accused of killing George Floyd. Each of the influencers will be paid $2,000 to spread 'approved information' on social-media, primarily to black and ethnic minority communities.
The trial of Derek Chauvin, who is seen as the key defendant, will begin on March 8th.
Chauvin is the officer who was videoed with his knee on George Floyd's neck for over 8 minutes resulting in his death. 3 other officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, will also face trial.
City Council Member Steve Fletcher said when questioned about the hiring of influencers:
"This has been traumatic, what we've lived through this year. And I think the likelihood that our justice process adds to that trauma seems high, so we need to prepare ourselves for that."
He added:
"I think there's a real awareness that justice is denied in many cases like this and I think people are preparing themselves for an outcome that might be painful. Or a process that might feel painful even if the outcome is something like justice. I think that figuring out how to support each other through that as a city is kind of the work ahead, and I'm hopeful that we can do more of that on the front end and rely less on riot shields on the back end."
"Through the Communications and Neighbourhood and Community Relations departments the City will ensure that communities and elected leaders have direct access to information in real time leading up to the trial, during the trial and when the verdict is announced. We intend to offer enhanced community services during the trial to keep people informed and safe, especially non-English and Black, Indigenous People of Colour (BIPOC) communities and small businesses that do not rely on traditional media."
The city is hoping that by allowing this information to be put out, it will quell misinformation from individuals who may wish to cause civil-unrest on the back of the trial.
In expectation of this potential unrest, the Minneapolis Court House, in which the trial will take place, has already had a protective cordon placed around it. In addition to this 2,000 National Guard troops and 1,000 police officers from other states will also be shipped in for the duration of the trial. At present, it is unclear just how long this trial will go on for.
The death of George Floyd, and subsequent videos being released of other black individuals dying as a result of police activity, sparked the worst civil unrest in the United States since at least the late 1960s. The protest movement went global and resulted in huge demonstrations in cities across the world.
[h/t: I heart Intelligence]
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