If the name Sarah Smith sounds familiar but you can’t quite remember why, it’s not your fault.
Where there’s fake outrage, you’re likely to find the Las Cruces-based influence peddler and conspiracy theorist shouting as loudly as possible with little to no substance.
For example, Smith’s latest project is a misguided petition to reverse updates that streamline the Las Cruces development code and zoning rules. These changes aim to make it easier to build affordable housing and create neighborhoods that are more walkable, bikeable, and connected to public transportation and local businesses.
Smith – who labels herself as politically moderate despite aligning with extreme right wing positions on multiple issues – holds roles at conservative organizations like the Coalition of Conservatives in Action, New Mexico Freedoms Alliance, and National Coalition for Health Integrity, known for advancing anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-worker policies.
Although she describes her efforts as “grassroots,” in reality Smith operates a bit more like Elon Musk, who is something of a model for her activities…
First, promote misleading content while spreading fear and trolling to get attention. Then, profit from the chaos and confusion.
For Smith, there are dual opportunities to gain money and power. As we’ll detail, it’s also a model some of the state’s leading conservatives are happy to embrace even when it involves exploiting and harming New Mexicans.
Banning books: The campaign no one asked for (or wants)
Perhaps the most visible attempt at fake controversy is Smith’s tired combination of anti-trans rhetoric and book ban fear mongering, though, as locals regularly note, her own children are home-schooled.
She is well known in Las Cruces for submitting letters to local newspapers and speaking at city council with arguments that are often repetitive and lack substance.
Book bans have proven to be unpopular both in Las Cruces and across the state, with most parents in support of the guardrails already in place.
For example, public libraries in New Mexico already have procedures for handling book challenges, in many cases based on the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. Typically, they follow a reconsideration procedure where individuals can voice concerns about a specific book. Most school libraries maintain similar policies and teachers are trained to teach about difficult subjects in an age-appropriate way.
The book banning crusade is also part of a larger campaign where Smith regularly collaborates with other figures who create content and push extreme false claims about gay and transgender community members, mimicking the national MAGA movement.
Making money on measles and raw milk
How much of Smith’s efforts are deeply held beliefs vs. rage baiting to get clicks and views?
It’s not entirely clear, but either way there’s money to be made by spreading misleading content and conspiracies.
Her personal website, which features recognizable mom blogger content like recipes and product reviews, has also become a platform for fringe theories and affiliate marketing, where she receives money in exchange for linking to specific products.
For example, Smith has downplayed a measles outbreak responsible for sickening 800+ people across 25 states, including killing two children in West Texas and an adult in NM’s Lea County – even as she promotes products that can treat some symptoms but don’t prevent or directly address measles.
Raw milk is another area where Smith shows up on both sides of the table…
She often makes bold claims about raw milk on her blog and social media, like saying that beneficial enzymes and probiotics are lost in pasteurization (which is when milk is heated to kill harmful bacteria).
Research shows that milk is not a significant source of probiotics to begin with. Pasteurization is widely recognized by food safety researchers as a method to remove contamination due to soil, cow manure, milking equipment, and sick cows, and is also confirmed to be an effective way to eliminate the bird flu.
The process also plays an important role in protecting young children and immunocompromised persons vulnerable to bacteria like E.coli and listeria, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain along with more serious issues like kidney or liver failure, and even death.
Smith openly identifies herself as vice president and secretary for the Raw Milk Institute, where she has been paid at least $32,845 since 2020.
She works alongside Mark McAfee, the operator of a California-based dairy whose raw dairy products were part of recent recalls due to bird flu contamination. McAfee’s farm is also tied to several lawsuits connected with a salmonella outbreak responsible for sickening 171 people in California last year.
Smith is a go-to troll for NM’s top conservatives
If Smith’s efforts to capitalize on book bans, measles remedies, and raw milk makes her neighbors in Las Cruces uncomfortable, it doesn’t seem to bother some of the state’s most prominent conservatives.
High profile Republicans consistently rely on Smith to create or uplift false claims and conspiracies that help them advance their own extreme proposals.
For example, going into this year’s legislative session, Rebecca Dow, the representative for NM House District 38, tag teamed with Smith to uplift anti-trans bans and spread a false claim of kids receiving medication and surgery at school health centers without parental consent or notification.
Dow then proposed absurd and harmful bills that sought to ban transgender athletes and criminalize healthcare providers providing medically necessary abortion care. She also describes her work at the legislature as being focused on protecting kids, despite a mixed record involving lawsuits with serious allegations of child abuse and sexual assault at a facility she owned and operated in Truth or Consequences.
Smith’s tag teaming with Dow mimics similar collaborations with conservative lawmakers like John Block and Stefani Lord, as well as organizations like the Rio Grande Foundation, funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers and other wealthy donors.
Smith also maintains and is closely involved in a network of interrelated Facebook groups and pages where she cross-posts misleading content to increase views, along with the occasional link to her affiliate marketing filled lifestyle blog. Those groups often feature misleading titles with phrases like “equality in education” and “community watch.”
What’s next for Sarah Smith? By all appearances, we can expect more of the Elon Musk misinform, outrage, exploit model, a habit that has even earned her the Musk nickname of “Space Karen” in some online groups.
So far, that model seems to be one that both Smith and the state’s top conservatives are proud of.