This looks a little too good to be true.
According to ads popping up in about a dozen major cities, people can earn $2,500 a month being professional protesters against the “Trump agenda.” To earn your $30k-per-year salary, you have to attend at least six events in a calendar year, starting with Trump’s inauguration.
The ads promise that full-time protesters can get paid vacation time and reimbursement for travel costs—and even move up within the company.
The ads, posted on Backpage.com in New York City, claim the offer is coming from a company called Demand Protest, which bills itself as the “largest private grassroots support organization in the United States.”
While postings for paid canvassing—and even paid protesting—aren’t unusual (Greenpeace, Human Rights Coalition and others regularly post part-time positions), Demand Protest’s pay scale, time frame and company description defy explanation.
Demand Protest’s website claims that it provides a number of “grassroots” services that help to seed agitation and encourage political movements. It says it’s worked with several major clients, including a 2016 Presidential campaign, and promises that its efforts are fully anonymous.
“Our top priority is preventing any associations back to you,” the website offers. “We can ensure that all actions appear genuine to media and public observers.”
But Demand Protest purchased their domain name in December of 2016—after the Presidential election—and although the company claims to be headquartered in San Francisco, a quick search of California business licenses reveals nothing by that name.
If this monthly retainer offer is real, please reach out to me directly. I might have to consider switching political affiliations and career paths (don’t tell my editors).