Part 97: Our Social Media Democracy – Journalism and Deception Politics in Los Angeles

Published June 1, 2024.

Jun 01, 2024

Photo by author of a Los Angeles Police Department officer guarding the incomplete Oceanwide Plaza which is now being offered for sale (GoPro Hero 11 Black).

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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist

The beauty of Los Angeles is in its deception. A pit, they call it behind our backs, and anonymously to our faces, somewhere not fit for living, priced into oblivion, cast against the common man. It’s a place where dreams go to die. I’ve long since reasoned that I may very well fail completely for engaging in the simple act of writing anything, much less anything about somebody. Simply put, no one cares, these stories are too long, too opaque, and too dark for anyone to readily want to digest. Occasionally I’ll get a polite thank you, but most often especially these days it’s vitriol, directed towards me personally and professionally, and I’m not even the one doing slacklining at Oceanwide Plaza and going on the television news.

Without a news agency to protect you, it’s open season and especially if you’re using multimedia much less live streaming in the hope that simply pointing the camera at the problem might change something. People love watching. We live in the most voyeuristic society imaginable, with violence and sexuality being the predominant themes coupled with fear and loathing of each other. Whether we’re talking YouTubers or banning TikTok, the brave new world of the 21st century promises radical change in how people consume news, and what the repercussions are for even daring to produce it. Truth be told, I’m afraid to write much in any great detail about the last couple of weeks for fear of further targeting, harsher retaliation related to my coverage of the anti-Scientology protests in Hollywood on social media.

If Donald Trump’s America represented one thing, it’s the rise of the bully republic, even more so than Theodore Roosevelt could ever have brandished when he said about American foreign policy in Latin America that his was to "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." The goal according to Roosevelt was "the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis." Roosevelt claimed without evidence that this was a West African proverb, and it may very well have been. It’s hard to imagine that Roosevelt would be taken in by the likes of Donald Trump even if they perhaps have some resemblance and shared braggadocio. The need for attention by a leader is amplified only by his mouthpiece, and so it was that the Spanish-American War was accompanied by the rise of so-called yellow journalism much like we experience today.

People don’t trust the media, they only pick sides, and to not pick a side is now viewed as an act of treachery. If it was Twitter that propelled Trump to the White House, it was CNN, MSNBC and Fox News that broadcast the inevitable spiral out on January 6, 2021 for which he still evades responsibility. The coming election season with its turn to Summer and then Fall are ripe for another blowout. The same could be said for Los Angeles where an anemic Mayor Karen Bass has sought to walk the middle line with congeniality that could be said to be the exact opposite of Donald Trump, and Rick Caruso her once Trump-like billionaire real estate developer rival who once again flirts with power. Los Angeles Times journalist Dakota Smith said about the mogul, whom Caruso declined to speak with even as a “person familiar with his strategy told The Times that the developer hasn’t ruled out a run for either mayor or governor in 2026.”

Caruso’s loss to Bass despite spending more than $100 million dollars was an embarrassment. Some of his supporters online much like Trump even attempted to maintain that his nearly 10 point loss had been an act of theft. This despite having almost ideal narrative headwinds following the October 2022 LA Fed Tapes scandal, which Caruso had sought to exploit by casting the racist audio tapes as the product of a corrupt Democratic-Labor alliance that had long dominated City Hall. The Reddit leaker username “Honest-Finding-1581” who would in turn Tweet the explosive recordings at journalists to get their attention remains undetermined. The criminal investigation by LAPD for eavesdropping and invasion of privacy presented in January 2024 was reviewed by District Attorney George Gascón who in turn declined to press felony charges against two individuals, both now former employees of the AFL-CIO’s chapter in Los Angeles.

According to the charge evaluation worksheet for Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez, two breaches were identified on October 18, 2021 and September 30, 2022. It’s unclear if there are any further recordings at this time, even as there had been speculation that they must be part of a greater trove from the politically powerful labor organization. “Both the Reddit and Twitter accounts were connected to a newly created Gmail account ‘laupolitic@gmail.com,’ which in turn was linked by IP Address to a residence,” that of Leon, the former Director of Finance for the organization and Vasquez, the former Executive Assistant to LA Fed President Ron Herrera. Moreover, according to the authorities:

“Both worked at the Federation of Labor, had access to the entire premises, and had similar motives to carry out the offense. The evidence indicates that a crime was committed by one or both of these individuals. However, it is unclear how the unlawful recordings took place, the device used to do so, or who uploaded the recordings online and created the anonymous accounts on Reddit, Twitter, and Gmail. Neither suspect was willing to provide a statement and each are represented by separate counsel.”

The May 10 referral from the DA’s office to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto for misdemeanor prosecution remains pending. Spokespersons for her office did not respond to my request for comment on whether the matter was still pending. I beat the Los Angeles Times to breaking the news of the referral by a few hours, with Los Angeles Times journalists James Queally and Dakota Smith securing denials from attorneys for both parties: “Our position has always been, and remains, that Ms. Vasquez has not committed any crime associated with the leaked recordings” and “This was never felony conduct…He is denying that he did anything wrong.”

Many have hailed these reputed leakers as whistleblowers. Responsibility for the accompanying note on Reddit “LA County Federation of Labor Scam” ebulliently declaring, “Wow, you know it happens, but when you actually hear it, it's unbelievable.” Is the leaker two persons, or more? The mystery remains with the note boasting, “Someone helped me connect the dots earlier this month,” how subtle? Were Leon and Vasquez to be prosecuted for misdemeanors, their lack of prior criminal record would likely provide some degree of protection with the 3-year statute of limitations counting down. If it were true, the motive undescribed would undoubtedly be both personal and professional. That both remained at their jobs long after the leak, with private investigators reportedly discovering recording software on Leon’s work laptop is curious.

Why wouldn’t you thoroughly get rid of the evidence, and why in a world of virtual private networks (VPNs) would you leave an internet protocol (IP) address that could be traced back to you? Perhaps in considering the political crime of the century Leon and Vasquez simply didn’t plan on well, being caught? Allegedly Leon had attempted to delete the software, but even then, if you’re behind the job, just how do you remain like a mole for many months afterwards. Whose to be believed, the attorney’s or the prosecutors? We’ll see what the City Attorney does here in the end, but any prosecution of Leon and Vasquez for eavesdropping on Nury Martinez, Kevin de León, Gil Cedillo, Ron Herrera, Justin Wesson, the then Chief of Staff to Herrera, and Hannah Cho, a Democratic political consultant would be both controversial and revealing.

Previously, it wasn’t believed that Wesson, the son of former LA City Council President Herb Wesson had been recorded. His voice isn’t heard on the audio apparently referenced as being made on September 30, 2022, the secondary recording to the more widely known meeting of the now also former City Council President Nury Martinez. The investigation into the discussion itself initiated by Attorney General Rob Bonta on whether the discussion about redistricting remains ongoing. People don’t trust the government in general anymore, but should they trust it in Los Angeles much less up in Sacramento or are dirty tricks being played? If Leon and Vasquez were in fact innocent, the victims of hackers, or political pawns for a greater power, well that would be the story of a century.

Despite giving a lengthy interview to LAist journalist Antonia Cereijido, it’s unknown who Martinez believes is responsible even as Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo have filed lawsuits alleging inaction by law enforcement, with Cedillo engaging in political conspiracy theory openly in the pages of La Opinión that the daughter of LA Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong and politicians from the Democratic Socialists of America – Los Angeles chapter were responsible. If there were something else going on here, and if Leon and Vasquez were innocent would we even know? Given what I’ve experienced lately with espionage and retaliation being committed against me using electronic dirty tricks, including manipulation of the 911 system it’s hard to know sometimes what’s what, much less who to trust.

Apparently it’s possible to manipulate the 911 system to have dispatch call you, then record you using a 2-way dialing device with the illegally obtained recording, which captured my nonplussed response along with mention of a Los Angeles Times journalist being well, also leaked on Reddit. So the games that we play with each other online are nothing new, and they can also extend to in-person, in a digital world, treachery is an almost sublime act. Who doesn’t love seeing a bad actor exposed? Reporting eavesdropping is surprisingly more difficult than you would expect, and allegedly those targeting me with spoofing (using my phone number to make a fake call and texts messages) have gone as far as using artificial intelligence to fake my voice.

Yes, quite literally, the streaming world and internet culture at large have a capability to engage in gross manipulation that can in turn deceive the masses. In an increasingly less free world, much less Los Angeles, engaging in authentic journalism, the opposite of so-called “yellow journalism,” the very act of truth telling is defiance. People actually fear journalists, and especially when they are up to activities that are suspect. Despite capturing widespread social media acclaim, the protests against the Church of Scientology, and presumed associates such as the La Poubelle Bistro & Bar, and now another establishment are controversial. In the Battle for Hollywood, much less Los Angeles, what you see isn’t always what you get, but the truth is out there, if an investigation were to ever actually fully uncover it. Reportedly LAPD has a comprehensive probe into swatting related to the protest, and has also investigated the protestors themselves as a medium-risk hate group.

The most recent Los Angeles Times report by journalist Noah Goldberg says that Karin Pouw, the spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology “did not respond to a question about claims of retaliation against protesters.” But what if she did? What’s the truth of the matter? Are both sides wrong? Rick Caruso had previously blamed associates of Mayor Karen Bass for the LA Fed Tapes leak in Vanity Fair in an interview with journalist Joe Hagan. It’s not clear who he thinks is responsible now, or if he’ll ever apologize:

“Caruso suspects someone in the Bass camp leaked the audio, which he says “embarrassed” Latinos, his ostensible base, and dissuaded them from voting. “Karen ran on identity politics, pure and simple,” Caruso says. “The subtitle was, ‘I’m a Black woman, and it’s time for a Black woman.’ That resonated with a lot of younger liberal voters.”

In the world of social media, much less traditional media, that ability to resonate with the audience to appeal has become increasingly important. It’s not even so much how many supporters or followers you have, but rather how committed they are, and just what will they do for the cause? January 6, 2021 didn’t just happen. It was instigated by Donald Trump online and offline, with Trump allegedly demanding that the Secret Service take him to the scene of the unfolding protest/riot. How mature of him?

Trump may be in trouble now with a guilty verdict over his use of hush money in relation to his former attorney Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels. The truth is that Donald Trump was able to subvert our democracy, including nearly even our military, not just because of his wealth, good looks, or rants, but because his harassment of opponents whether Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden was given tacit endorsement by our social-political establishment. They treated him as normal right up to the point that the man literally is accused of smearing ketchup on the walls of the White House. The legacy of Trumpism in America promises more darkness.

These aren’t normal times, and the scary part is they just might elect him again. Trump was no Teddy Roosevelt, but can he be Grover Cleveland? 2024 is a strange and bizarre year, but if we let the fear and loathing get to us too much, we’ll never escape bat country, and this is all strangely paranoid, the political style that gets us worked up the most precisely because it’s dramatic, and well to be honest, it brings in a crowd. People are actually starting to grow tired of watching me get swatted, even as before I’d roamed the streets freely, streaming interviews of the LAPD officers at Oceanwide Plaza and highlighting the problem of human trafficking on Figueroa Street without retaliation. I had crossed a line, not a Trump-level line, but enough of one that they were after me, determined to shut down my broadcast with spectacle.

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