On November 4, far-left groups in the United States have called for a massive series of demonstrations to demand the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. In advance, groups on both the far left and the far right have been preparing for digital conflict, with each side apparently planning to spread information — and disinformation — against the other.

Neither side seems particularly numerous, so the threat should not be exaggerated. However, given the potential for clashes on the day, and the experience of earlier contests between the two extremes, internet users should be especially wary of disinformation and fake stories as the demonstrations approach.

Calling for revolution

The call for demonstrations came from a website called RefuseFascism.org, in terms which presented the event as the first step towards a revolution.

Poster calling for demonstrations. (Source: RefuseFascism.org)

In a statement published on October 22, the organizers were explicit about their goal to “drive this regime” (the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump) from power.

ON NOVEMBER 4, 2017: We will gather in the streets and public squares of cities and towns across this country, at first many thousands declaring that this whole regime is illegitimate and that we will not stop until our single demand is met: This Nightmare Must End: the Trump/Pence Regime Must Go! Our protest must grow day after day and night after night — thousands becoming hundreds of thousands, and then millions — determined to act to put a stop to the grave danger that the Trump/Pence Regime poses to the world by demanding that this whole regime be removed from power.

Accompanying literature called the administration “fascist”, “a regime that imperils humanity and the Earth itself”, and “more dangerous to the world than even Hitler.”

As of November 1, the group had announced protests in twenty cities across the United States, from New York and Atlanta to Honolulu.

Listing of some of the cities planned for demonstrations. (Source: RefuseFascism.org)

Whatever the organizers’ views on the current administration’s policies or the American electoral system, Donald Trump is the President of the United States and was inaugurated in a constitutional manner. While the organizer’s language was both aggressive and exaggerated, the group’s primary methods appeared both peaceful and old-fashioned.

A separate statement underlined that the protests should be non-violent. In a list of the group’s goals and methods, the top entry was to “spread the slogans and the date far and wide” by utilizing:

Posters, stickers, flyers, chalking, light projections, banner drops, radio call-ins, social media, church bulletins, announcements at events, and much, much more.

Supporting posts from other organizations, notably the Revolutionary Communist Party of the USA, also emphasized the use of traditional methods and ruled out violence.

Web article from the Revolutionary Communist Party of the USA, sharing the date, and much of the content, of the RefuseFascism.org posts. Note the emphasis on “sustained non-violent outpourings” and the use of the identical list of methods, including posters, flyers, and chalking. (Source: revcom.us.)

Strikingly, neither site paid particular attention to social media. RefuseFascism.org provided a handful of memes, compared with a Google Drive full of stickers, posters, banners and templates, laid out for printing rather than sharing online.

Sticker from the Google Drive; note the print and layout markings. (Source: Google Drive / RefuseFascism.org)

It also provided a page of posters, for printing out in 40" x 60" format (1m x 1.50m), with advice on how to print, attach, and waterproof them.