Fake Online Posts Sow Fear, Anxiety In Eastern PA Amid Unrest

PENNSYLVANIA — In the face of a major public health crisis, nationwide tensions between law enforcement and protesters, and a destructive storm Wednesday that left hundreds of thousands without power, society is feeling fragile.

So it doesn't take much to kick up a fire and send things spiraling. And that's exactly what's been happening on various social media channels in recent days, as agitators around southeastern Pennsylvania have attempted to incite fear by sharing false information.

It ties into a trend around the country: groups, reportedly including white nationalists, have sought to sow discord, multiple national outlets including NBC News report.

In Eastern Pennsylvania, the fake postings have spread quickly. In the midst of protests related to the death of George Floyd in parts of Philadelphia over the weekend, multiple posts were shared on a Huntingdon Valley area community page stating the local Giant supermarket had been "evacuated" due to protests and looting. The rumor quickly spread, but had no basis in fact: the store was simply closing early due to the township's guidelines.

"No, that is not true," Abington Deputy Chief of Police Kelley D. Warner said. "We had no protestors in Huntingdon Valley Saturday night."

Before a Floyd protest in Doylestown on Monday, rumors circulated that violence would ensue. It led to may businesses boarding up their windows in advance of the demonstration "out of an abundance of caution."

Yet, the demonstration was peaceful with no incidents, the Central Bucks Regional Police Department confirmed.

Over in Chester County, Phoenixville Borough received information that "group of individuals, possibly those involved in civil unrest in other areas, were targeting Phoenixville," emergency officials there said.

This led a deployment of police to strategic locations around the borough, and several road closures at strategic locations. Residents were told to avoid the downtown area. In the end, the threat was empty, but the borough was left on edge.

In cases such as Doylestown and Phoenixville, the threats became conflated with the largely peaceful protests in many parts of the region. While there has been real looting and rioting in the suburbs, while these peaceful protests have in many cases devolved into violence — such as at the King of Prussia Mall and elsewhere — the fake posts only serve to confuse the situation further, officials say. And it appears they're designed that way.

According to the report from NBC News, some fake posts have claimed Antifa is organizing bus rides to take protesters into predominantly white suburbs and loot homes. In several states, local police chiefs have confirmed that despite online posts claiming to report on such planned violence, they knew of no Antifa activity in the area, and no violence ultimately occurred as threatened.

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An even starker example occurred in the borough of Bristol in Bucks County, where police confirmed that multiple online platforms are being used to spread the fake posts. On Tuesday, they said, one of these false reports stated a woman in an nursing uniform was being beaten by four men at a convenience store in Bristol.

"This is a FALSE report," police said in the post. "The public is strongly urged to get their news from legitimate professional news sources. Please confirm any similar type of post before forwarding."

Indeed, the threatened violence bears no resemblance to the actual violence and looting that have occurred. In Philadelphia, events that began as large peaceful protests of Floyd's death splintered and in cases became violent and destructive. And while there are examples of specific locations being targeted, such as the King of Prussia and Franklin Mills malls and the Limerick outlets, these are invariably commercial locations.

Once posts begin to get viral traction, they grow exponentially, feeding off the attention of celebrity social media accounts, blogs, and smaller websites.

"This is where it becomes impossible to trace its impact and potentially could lead to roving vigilante groups," Joan Donovan, director of the Shorenstein Center on Media Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, told NBC.

The unrest in Philadelphia has led to more than 700 arrests, 25 injured officers, and 135-explosive related incidents over the course of several days.

Nationwide, more than 5,600 people nationwide have been arrested over the past week for such offenses as stealing, blocking highways and breaking curfew, according to a count by The Associated Press.

See full updates here.