You’ve probably seen those videos where someone walks or drives around Albuquerque’s International District, filming people experiencing homelessness.
These videos usually follow a pattern: someone visits the area, takes video of unhoused individuals, maybe talks to a few people, and then shares their story with a title that’s meant to grab attention, like “Inside the Most Dangerous City in America.”
Last month another one went viral, created by a conservative YouTube personality who showed up, took footage, and pronounced “You can’t save any of the people I witnessed on the streets of Albuquerque that day.”
The video from March got enough views that Johnson even republished it this week with a new title “The City That Had To Call In The National Guard” playing off of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s plans to deploy 60-70 national guard members starting in May.
*Note: we are not sharing a direct link to the video to avoid giving it more clicks/views, but even if you haven’t seen it, you’ll probably recognize the formula.
These videos about people struggling in Albuquerque are often made by outsiders who don’t live in the neighborhood or understand the real issues. They usually focus on sensationalizing problems like drug addiction, homelessness, and crime, rather than exploring solutions.
They also use the “ride along formula” inspired by the old TV show Cops, known for exaggerating violent crime and misleading people about police. It got so bad that Albuquerque even banned the show from filming from 2004 to 2014 due to concerns about accuracy, and Cops was eventually cancelled.
One big reason the model endures: it pays off for both politicians and content creators.
These videos aren’t just hurtful to the people they portray; they’re also used by politicians to gain power. By using a combination of dehumanizing language, like calling people “zombies,” while also saying things like “this is terrible, someone has to stop it” they create a sense of urgency and sympathy that can be leveraged for votes or funding. The problem is, this approach often focuses on punishment rather than addressing the root causes of suffering or offering solutions.
For content creators, it’s all about clicks and cash. They can earn money from views, and if their content gets shared elsewhere, like on local TV or blogs, they can increase their audience and revenue through partnerships and sponsorships. It’s a business model that thrives on sensationalism and misinformation.
It’s not just outsiders who are exploiting the struggles of unhoused individuals and those with mental health issues in Albuquerque. Unfortunately, some local content creators and politicians are also guilty of using their pain for personal gain.
A recent example is a prominent MAGA Republican from Rio Rancho who promoted a documentary featuring a ride-along where he made misleading comments about people experiencing homelessness, including claiming that they “don’t want help” and just want to live on the streets.
That rhetoric is not only dehumanizing but also ignores the solutions already being worked on by community members who are invested in finding answers, like the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, ACLU of New Mexico, NM Eviction Protection, and Enlace Comunitario.
Even Governor Lujan Grisham has used a similar approach, staging a press conference in front of a homeless encampment in Las Cruces last year.
This kind of strategy allows local right-wing activists and politicians to grandstand about the issue without actually doing anything to address its root causes.
We need leaders genuinely interested in solutions that make our city and state better, including:
- Creating community violence prevention programs at the neighborhood level
- Boosting youth employment and activities for teens to give them positive outlets
- Increasing access to mental health and drug treatment services
- Investing in evidence-based interventions like Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS)
- Providing affordable and safe housing options
These are the kinds of changes that can actually make a difference, but they don’t make for sensational TV or social media fodder. It’s time to stop exploiting people’s struggles for political gain or clicks/views and start working on real solutions.
So the next time you hear someone talk about or share one of these viral “ride along” videos, don’t share or respond directly to the video (this helps it go viral).
Instead, take a minute to educate them on how bad actors use this strategy for personal gain and ask them to take action by attending a city council or county commission meeting and telling their local elected officials they want real solutions not sensationalism.