CNN’s Brian Stelter doesn’t think Americans can be trusted to view LA riot videos

CNN media analyst Brian Stelter told the network’s viewers Monday to be skeptical about videos showing riots in Los Angeles.

Video posted to social media Saturday showed an individual, who the FBI identified as Elpido Reyna in a Monday night post on X, throwing rocks at the windshields of vehicles containing federal law enforcement personnel with the FBI offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Stelter claimed social media algorithms would create a “false impression” of conditions while talking with “CNN News Central” co-hosts Brianna Keilar and Boris Sanchez.

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“We all live on our phones these days. We’re all scrolling through social media. You’ve got to be careful at a delicate moment like this to look at the time stamps, look at the dates, look at when things are actually posted, and if they‘re really from the situation they’re purporting to be,” Stelter said. “A lot of these algorithms are surfacing hours or even days-old content.”

“So you might be looking at a video of something, wondering what’s happening in L.A., it’s actually from two days ago,” Stelter continued. “And that’s, you know, it only matters because it can give people a false impression of what’s actually happening at a moment of unrest.”

OC COUNTY: Santa Ana PD said about 150 rioters still left in the streets. PD has now switched out with SWAT. Despite multiple warnings they’ve refused to leave @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/GSqxXLL2SA

— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 10, 2025

President Donald Trump ordered 700 Marines to back up the deployment of federalized National Guard troops Monday as the riots continued into their fifth day following a Friday raid by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Los Angeles-area Home Depot.

Fox News reporter Bill Melugin posted video showing the perspective from inside one of the vehicles being hit with rocks Saturday. Melugin also posted additional video and photos of the aftermath of the incident, including video showing a windshield with significant damage after a rioter threw a rock at it and also posting a photo of an injury suffered by one federal law enforcement officer due to the attack.

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