A classic leftist/occupy activist tactic, I was warned, was to confront a target and immediately start screaming that the target was being aggressive even though that was not true.

Unsuspecting people in the vicinity would not start recording the incident until there was this commotion. The videographers accompanying the provocateur also would edit the video to start when the provocateur started screaming. The target, not knowing what was about to happen, would not be prepared for it, and might even take the bait, such as in pushing the person away physically.

Regardless of what the target did or didn't do, you would have video of the innocent target being portrayed as the aggressor, and the provocateur portrayed as the victim.

It happened to me at Cornell in April 2014 after the student assembly rejected a BDS motion.