Antifa post asks “comrades” to pose as Trump supporters? Fact Check

Posts on social media claim that members affiliated with the Antifa movement are intending to disguise themselves as police or Trump supporters on November 4th – the day after the presidential election – where they will start violent riots across the country.

FALSE

An example of the post as it appeared on social media can be seen below.

Election Day nears Comrades!!! Prepare to defend your rights!!
ANTIFA COMRADES!
On Nov. 4 don’t forget to disguise yourselves as patriots/Trump supporters: wear MAGA hats, USA flags, 3%er insignias, a convincing police uniform is even better!
This way police and patriots responding to us won’t know who their enemies are, and onlookers and the media will think there are Trump supporters rioting so it’s harder to turn popular opinion against us!

This particular post or flyer has been circulating social media since 2017, and ties into a larger conspiracy that has claimed in 2017, 2018, 2019 and in 2020 that on November 4th, people identifying with Antifa are planning large scale rioting across the United States. Despite the persistent rumours, each year the claim has spread, nothing has come from it.

Just like nothing comes of the claims about the government forcing citizens to have mandatory tracking chips implanted in them, or nothing comes from the constant stream of doomsday and judgement day predictions. Each time the prediction or conspiracy proves incorrect, those behind the scenes peddling them just push back the date and it starts all over again.

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In this instance, the November 4th “Antifa Day” has been pushed to 2020, which is of course the day after the 2020 presidential election, where the country will know the identity of their next president (unless it is a particularly close election that’s result is contested or has to rely on counting mail-in ballots.)

And again, the above graphic is circulating, claiming that Antifa members will disguise themselves with MAGA hats or even police uniforms to confuse those responding to their large scale riots. And again, the claims lack evidence and substance, which appear only in the form of baseless accusation, conspiracy themed YouTube videos and, naturally, social media memes.

In this instance, the meme above appears to have been posted in a group called Hickman County Antifa. That group no longer exists but after tracking down some former members, they confirmed to us that the group was designed for sharing antifa related memes or jokes, and wasn’t a serious group aimed at planning events or, in this case, riots. Snopes also reported to have tracked down the person who posted the meme in the Hickman County Antifa group who confirmed she had shared it as a bad joke.
 

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Ultimately, this type of politically divisive content is often amplified by those looking to do just that – divide, and it’s a technique we’ve seen on both sides of the political spectrum.

For example, those looking to harm antifa would gain from amplifying the perception that they are excessively violent, or are looking to ignite arbitrary and indiscriminate riots and violence across the country. A theory that could also explain the yet unexplained “protest manuals” allegedly dropped by “leftist protesters” that find screenshots of themselves circulating online.

Or, for example, those looking to create the perception that their political adversaries are unpopular or unfavourable could create adverts on sites like Gumtree advertising for paid positions to pose as a supporter at a political rally – something we’ve seen on both sides of the political aisle numerous times.

As for the meme above, it’s circulating for its fourth year now and we rank it false.