A giveaway event that descended into chaos in Manhattan’s Union Square Park on Aug. 4 may have been driven by “outside agitators,” according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Thousands of people, mostly young people, gathered in New York City on Aug. 4 in anticipation of getting free PlayStation 5s or gift cards from a social media personality.
But the gathering quickly devolved into a massive riot and police were called in. Aerial TV news footage showed a surging, tightly packed crowd running through the streets, scaling structures in the park, and snarling traffic. Shouting teenagers swung objects at car windows, threw paint cans, and set off fire extinguishers. Some people climbed on a moving vehicle, falling off as it sped away. Others pounded on or climbed atop city buses.
“We are further looking into where there’s some even outside agitators,” Mr. Adams told reporters at an unrelated briefing on Aug. 5.
“You don’t come to get free Game Boys and bring smoke bombs and bring M-80s and bring other disruptive items. We believe there were some outside influencers that may have attempted to aggravate this situation.”
Dangers of Social Media
In a second press conference on Aug. 4, New York City Police Department Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said the latest mayhem underscored the power and danger of social media.
“We went from 300 kids to a couple of thousand kids in minutes—minutes,” Mr. Maddrey told reporters.
The event was organized by Kai Cenat, a video creator and live streamer with 3.7 million subscribers on YouTube and 6.5 million fans on Twitch, a livestreaming service.
Mr. Cenat, along with another liver streamer, Fanum, encouraged their fans to come to Union Square Park where they would show up and give away PlayStation 5s and other free gifts at 4 p.m. on Aug. 4.
Livestreaming on Twitch from a vehicle as the event gathered steam, Mr. Cenat displayed gift cards he planned to give away. Noting the crowd and police presence, he said: “Everybody who’s out there, make sure y’all safe. … We’re not gonna do nothin’ until it’s safe.”
By Dorothy Li
