We Interviewed the Guy Who Organizes Paid Protests

About this episode

The episode features an interview with Adam Swart, discussing the organization of paid protests and the ethical implications of commodifying civic activism.

Adam Swart is the founder and CEO of Crowds on Demand — a company that literally organizes protests, rallies, and PR stunts for clients across the U.S. In this interesting conversation, Henry and Danny dig into how this shadowy industry actually works: who pays for demonstrations, how they’re staffed, and where ethics fit in when civic action becomes a paid service. Swart claims his firm turned down $20 million in offers to organize anti-Trump protests, and insists “paid protestors” aren’t what conspiracy theories make them out to be.But Danny pushes back — asking whether commodifying civic activism cheapens democracy itself. Timestamps:00:00 – Intro: Who is Adam Swart?02:00 – How the “Crowds on Demand” model was born05:00 – The mechanics of paid activism08:00 – Drawing the ethical line: Who he’ll work with15:00 – “Protest is advertising, not voting”20:00 – Does paying people for civic action corrupt democracy?27:00 – The myth of “grassroots” movements35:00 – Why Swart turned down $20M in anti-Trump business44:00 – Vetting protestors and the risk of instability52:00 – The transparency problem57:00 – “Paid protestors” and the class divide in outrage01:02:00 – Swart’s upcoming…

People in this episode

Hosts: Henry, Danny

Guest: Adam Swart

Topics covered

• paid protests
• civic activism
• ethics in activism
• democracy
• protest organization

Keywords

• paid protests
• Crowds on Demand
• civic action
• democracy
• activism ethics
• protest organization
• anti-Trump protests

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Crowds on Demand

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