NEW YORK — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she’s put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At 73, she has cut her costs as much as she can to live on a tight budget.
But it’s about to get far tighter.
As the Trump administration resumes collections on defaulted student loans, a surprising population has been caught in the crosshairs: hundreds of thousands of older Americans whose decades-old debts now put them at risk of having their Social Security checks garnished.
“I worked ridiculous hours. I worked weekends and nights. But I could never pay it off,” says Farro, a retired child welfare worker in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Like millions of debtors with federal student loans, Farro had her payments and interest paused by the government five years ago when the pandemic thrust many into financial hardship. That grace period ended in 2023 and, earlier this month, the Department of Education said it would restart “involuntary collections” by garnishing paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security retirement and disability benefits. Farro previously had her Social Security garnished and expects it to restart.
Farro’s loans date back 40 years. She was a single mother when she got a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology and when she discovered she couldn’t earn enough to pay off her loans, she went back to school and got a master’s degree. Her salary never caught up. Things only got worse.
Around 2008, when she consolidated her loans, she was paying $1,000 a month, but years of missed payments and piled-on interest meant she was barely putting a dent in a bill that had ballooned to $250,000. When she sought help to resolve her debt, she says the loan company had just one suggestion.
“They said, ‘Move to a cheaper state,’” says Farro, who rents a 400-square-foot casita from a friend. “I realized I was living in a different reality than they were.”
Student loan debt among older people has grown at a staggering rate, in part due to rising tuitions that have forced more people to borrow greater sums. People 60 and older hold an estimated $125 billion in student loans, according to the National Consumer Law Center, a six-fold increase from 20 years ago.
That has led Social Security beneficiaries who have had their payments garnished to balloon by 3,000% — from approximately 6,200 beneficiaries to 192,300 — between 2001 and 2019, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
This year, an estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in default and are likely to experience the Department of Education’s renewed forced collections, according to the January report from CFPB.
Debbie McIntyre, a 62-year-old adult education teacher in Georgetown, Ky., is among them. She dreams of retiring and writing more historical fiction, and of boarding a plane for the first time since high school. But her husband has been out of work on disability for two decades and they’ve used credit cards to get by on his meager benefits and her paycheck. Their rent will be hiked $300 when their lease renews. McIntyre doesn’t know what to do if her paycheck is garnished.
She floats the idea of bankruptcy, but that won’t automatically clear her loans, which are held to a different standard than other debt. She figures if she picks up extra jobs babysitting or tutoring, she could put $50 toward her loans here and there. But she sees no real solution.
“I don’t know what more I can do,” says McIntyre, who is too afraid to check what her loan balance is. “I’ll never get out of this hole.”
Braxton Brewington of the Debt Collective debtors union says it’s striking how many older people dial into the organization’s calls and attend its protests. Many of them, he says, should have had their debts canceled but fell victim to a system “riddled with flaws and illegalities and flukes.” Many whose educations have left them in late-life debt have, in fact, paid back the principal on their loans, sometimes several times over, but still owe more due to interest and fees.
For those who are subject to garnishment, Brewington says, the results can be devastating.
“We hear from people who skip meals. We know people who dilute their medication or cut their pills in half. People take drastic measures like pulling all their savings out or dissolving their 401ks,” he says. “We know folks that have been driven into homelessness.”
Collections on defaulted loans may have restarted no matter who was president, though the Biden administration had sought to limit the amount of income that could be garnished. Federal law protects just $750 of Social Security benefits from garnishment, an amount that would put a debtor far below the poverty line.
“We’re basically providing people with federal benefits with one hand and taking them away with another,” says Sarah Sattelmeyer of the New America think tank.
Linda Hilton, a 76-year-old retired office worker from Apache Junction, Ariz., went through garnishment before COVID and says she will survive it again. But flights to see her children, occasional meals at a restaurant and other pleasures of retired life may disappear.
“It’s going to mean restrictions,” says Hilton. “There won’t be any travel. There won’t be any frills.”
Some debtors have already received notice about collections. Many more are living in fear. President Trump has signed an executive order calling for the Department of Education’s dismantling and, for those seeking answers about their loans, mass layoffs have complicated getting calls answered.
While Education Secretary Linda McMahon says restarting collections is a necessary step for debtors “both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook,” even some of Trump’s most fervent supporters are questioning a move that will make their lives harder.
Randall Countryman, 55, of Bonita, Calif., says a Biden administration proposal to forgive some student debt didn’t strike him as fair, but he’s not sure Trump’s approach is either. He supported Trump but wishes the government made case-by-case decisions on debtors. Countryman thinks Americans don’t realize how many older people are affected by policies on student loans, often thought to be the turf of the young, and how difficult it can be for them to repay.
“What’s a young person’s problem today,” he says, “is an old person’s problem tomorrow.”
Countryman started working on a degree while in prison, then continued it at the University of Phoenix when he was released. He started growing nervous as he racked up loan debt and never finished his degree. He’s worked a host of different jobs, but finding work has often been complicated by his criminal record.
He lives off his wife’s Social Security check and the kindness of his mother-in-law. He doesn’t know how they’d get by if the government demands repayment.
“I kind of wish I never went to school in the first place,” he says.
Sedensky writes for the Associated Press.
Jennifer Lopez sued over paparazzi photo social media post
A photographer and photo agency filed a lawsuit against Jennifer Lopez alleging copyright infringement after the actor and singer allegedly posted copyrighted photos of herself from a pre-Golden Globes party to social media.
In the complaint, filed Saturday in federal court, photographer Edwin Blanco accuses Lopez of posting photos of her arriving and departing from the January event on Instagram and X without permission. Backgrid USA, a news and photo agency, filed a twin suit related to the same photographs, which the company and Blanco co-own, according to court documents.
The photos, which as of Tuesday remained on her Instagram and X with no visible watermark, show her in white fur coat and slip dress, clutching a Chanel purse. The post on Instagram is captioned “Weekend Glamour.”
A representative for Lopez did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges that the “Let’s Get Loud” singer posted the photos to market designers she wore at the event. Blanco and Backgrid did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. But in a statement to Billboard, attorney Peter Perkowski, who represents Blanco and Backgrid, claims that Lopez’s use was “commercial in nature.”
“For example, Ms. Lopez used the images to spotlight the designer of her clothing and jewelry,” he told Billboard. “Leveraging the publicity from the event to promote her fashion affiliations and brand partnerships.”
He also told the outlet that both parties had “fruitful discussions” in the weeks after the photos were posted, with Lopez’s team orally agreeing to a monetary settlement. But when the papers arrived, Perkowski says she didn’t sign them and has not yet paid the agreed sum.
Backgrid and Blanco are seeking statutory damages up to $150,000 for each photo used as well as a jury trial, according to the lawsuit.
Lopez faced legal action in 2019 and 2020 for allegedly sharing photos of her taken by others. In 2020, her production company Nuyorican Productions was also sued for $40 million by a woman who inspired Lopez’s character in the film “Hustlers.”
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Indian professor arrested over social media post on military operation | India-Pakistan Tensions News
A professor from an elite, private liberal-arts university in India has been arrested for a social media post about news briefings on the military operation against Pakistan more than a week after the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire, according to local media reports.
Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor with the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was arrested on Sunday under sections of the criminal code pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, incitement of armed rebellion or subversive activities, and insults of religious beliefs.
A police official told the Indian Express newspaper that Mahmudabad, 42, was arrested in the capital, New Delhi, 60km (37 miles) south of the university, located in Sonepat in Haryana state.
A report by the online publication Scroll.in on Sunday quoted Mahmudabad’s lawyer as saying the case against him was filed on Saturday based on a complaint by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana.
The arrest was made days after the Haryana State Commission for Women summoned Mahmudabad for his comments on the daily briefings on India’s military operation in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh from the Indian armed forces held media briefings on Operation Sindoor, launched on May 6.
In a Facebook post on May 8, Mahmudabad had said: “I am very happy to see so many right wing commentators applauding Colonel Sophia Qureishi but perhaps they could also equally loudly demand that the victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing and others who are victims of the BJP’s hate mongering be protected as Indian citizens.
“The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is importantly but optics must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy.”
The post referred to Qureishi, a Muslim officer in the Indian army, and attacks against Muslims, including lynchings and destruction of their houses without due process.
According to local media reports, the Haryana Women’s Commission on Monday said the professor’s statement “disparaged women officers in the Indian Armed Forces and promoted communal disharmony” and summoned him.
Mahmudabad has defended his comments and said on X that they had been misunderstood.
“If anything, my entire comments were about safeguarding the lives of both citizens and soldiers. Furthermore, there is nothing remotely misogynistic about my comments that could be construed as anti-women,” he said.
In February last year, the human rights group Amnesty International urged the government to stop “unjust targeted demolition of Muslim properties”.
“The unlawful demolition of Muslim properties by the Indian authorities, peddled as ‘bulldozer justice’ by political leaders and media, is cruel and appalling. Such displacement and dispossession is deeply unjust, unlawful and discriminatory. They are destroying families – and must stop immediately,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary-general.
“The authorities have repeatedly undermined the rule of law, destroying homes, businesses or places of worship, through targeted campaigns of hate, harassment, violence and the weaponization of JCB bulldozers. These human rights abuses must be urgently addressed,” she said in a statement.
India’s Supreme Court has ordered a halt to so-called bulldozer justice, but that has not stopped authorities from disregarding due process.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP has also been accused of allowing far-right Hindu vigilante groups to act with impunity. They have lynched Muslims and tried to police interfaith relations. Modi has spoken against cow vigilante killings, but his government has done little to stop the activities of vigilante groups.
Professors and activists across the country have shown their support for Mahmudabad.
An open letter with about 1,200 signatories released on Friday said: “It is clear that Prof Khan praised the strategic restraint of the armed forces, analysed how any distinction between the terrorists or non-state actors and the Pakistani military has now collapsed, and said that the optics of the women officers chosen for media debriefs was ‘important’ as proof that the secular vision of the founders of our Republic is still alive.”
The truce between India and Pakistan, announced on May 10, halted several days of missile and drone attacks across their shared border. Pakistan said at least 31 people were killed in India’s strikes while India said at least 15 people were killed in Pakistan’s counterattacks.
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Mexican Navy sailing ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge in New York | Social Media
Videos show the moment a Mexican Navy training ship crashed into New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, resulting in the deaths of two crew members and injuring dozens more. Eyewitnesses describe seeing people dangling from the snapped masts of the sailing vessel, the ARM Cuauhtémoc.
Published On 18 May 202518 May 2025
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Older people in crosshairs as government restarts Social Security garnishment on student loans
NEW YORK — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she’s put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At 73, she has cut her costs as much as she can to live on a tight budget.
But it’s about to get far tighter.
As the Trump administration resumes collections on defaulted student loans, a surprising population has been caught in the crosshairs: hundreds of thousands of older Americans whose decades-old debts now put them at risk of having their Social Security checks garnished.
“I worked ridiculous hours. I worked weekends and nights. But I could never pay it off,” says Farro, a retired child welfare worker in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Like millions of debtors with federal student loans, Farro had her payments and interest paused by the government five years ago when the pandemic thrust many into financial hardship. That grace period ended in 2023 and, earlier this month, the Department of Education said it would restart “involuntary collections” by garnishing paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security retirement and disability benefits. Farro previously had her Social Security garnished and expects it to restart.
Farro’s loans date back 40 years. She was a single mother when she got a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology and when she discovered she couldn’t earn enough to pay off her loans, she went back to school and got a master’s degree. Her salary never caught up. Things only got worse.
Around 2008, when she consolidated her loans, she was paying $1,000 a month, but years of missed payments and piled-on interest meant she was barely putting a dent in a bill that had ballooned to $250,000. When she sought help to resolve her debt, she says the loan company had just one suggestion.
“They said, ‘Move to a cheaper state,’” says Farro, who rents a 400-square-foot casita from a friend. “I realized I was living in a different reality than they were.”
Student loan debt among older people has grown at a staggering rate, in part due to rising tuitions that have forced more people to borrow greater sums. People 60 and older hold an estimated $125 billion in student loans, according to the National Consumer Law Center, a six-fold increase from 20 years ago.
That has led Social Security beneficiaries who have had their payments garnished to balloon by 3,000% — from approximately 6,200 beneficiaries to 192,300 — between 2001 and 2019, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
This year, an estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in default and are likely to experience the Department of Education’s renewed forced collections, according to the January report from CFPB.
Debbie McIntyre, a 62-year-old adult education teacher in Georgetown, Ky., is among them. She dreams of retiring and writing more historical fiction, and of boarding a plane for the first time since high school. But her husband has been out of work on disability for two decades and they’ve used credit cards to get by on his meager benefits and her paycheck. Their rent will be hiked $300 when their lease renews. McIntyre doesn’t know what to do if her paycheck is garnished.
She floats the idea of bankruptcy, but that won’t automatically clear her loans, which are held to a different standard than other debt. She figures if she picks up extra jobs babysitting or tutoring, she could put $50 toward her loans here and there. But she sees no real solution.
“I don’t know what more I can do,” says McIntyre, who is too afraid to check what her loan balance is. “I’ll never get out of this hole.”
Braxton Brewington of the Debt Collective debtors union says it’s striking how many older people dial into the organization’s calls and attend its protests. Many of them, he says, should have had their debts canceled but fell victim to a system “riddled with flaws and illegalities and flukes.” Many whose educations have left them in late-life debt have, in fact, paid back the principal on their loans, sometimes several times over, but still owe more due to interest and fees.
For those who are subject to garnishment, Brewington says, the results can be devastating.
“We hear from people who skip meals. We know people who dilute their medication or cut their pills in half. People take drastic measures like pulling all their savings out or dissolving their 401ks,” he says. “We know folks that have been driven into homelessness.”
Collections on defaulted loans may have restarted no matter who was president, though the Biden administration had sought to limit the amount of income that could be garnished. Federal law protects just $750 of Social Security benefits from garnishment, an amount that would put a debtor far below the poverty line.
“We’re basically providing people with federal benefits with one hand and taking them away with another,” says Sarah Sattelmeyer of the New America think tank.
Linda Hilton, a 76-year-old retired office worker from Apache Junction, Ariz., went through garnishment before COVID and says she will survive it again. But flights to see her children, occasional meals at a restaurant and other pleasures of retired life may disappear.
“It’s going to mean restrictions,” says Hilton. “There won’t be any travel. There won’t be any frills.”
Some debtors have already received notice about collections. Many more are living in fear. President Trump has signed an executive order calling for the Department of Education’s dismantling and, for those seeking answers about their loans, mass layoffs have complicated getting calls answered.
While Education Secretary Linda McMahon says restarting collections is a necessary step for debtors “both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook,” even some of Trump’s most fervent supporters are questioning a move that will make their lives harder.
Randall Countryman, 55, of Bonita, Calif., says a Biden administration proposal to forgive some student debt didn’t strike him as fair, but he’s not sure Trump’s approach is either. He supported Trump but wishes the government made case-by-case decisions on debtors. Countryman thinks Americans don’t realize how many older people are affected by policies on student loans, often thought to be the turf of the young, and how difficult it can be for them to repay.
“What’s a young person’s problem today,” he says, “is an old person’s problem tomorrow.”
Countryman started working on a degree while in prison, then continued it at the University of Phoenix when he was released. He started growing nervous as he racked up loan debt and never finished his degree. He’s worked a host of different jobs, but finding work has often been complicated by his criminal record.
He lives off his wife’s Social Security check and the kindness of his mother-in-law. He doesn’t know how they’d get by if the government demands repayment.
“I kind of wish I never went to school in the first place,” he says.
Sedensky writes for the Associated Press.
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Lando Norris to boycott social media after being subjected to fresh abuse as F1 star falls behind Oscar Piastri
LANDO NORRIS has boycotted social media after falling behind McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in the F1 title race.
Despite Norris’ pre-season billing as the Championship favourite, the McLaren star has been outdone by the Aussie’s momentum in the opening six races of the season.
1
And Norris has been subject to fresh hate and abuse since falling 16 points behind Piastri, who – despite playing second fiddle to the Brit last year – is the new bookie’s favourite.
Speaking to reporters including SunSport in the McLaren motorhome at Imola, Norris opened up about his online detox ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this Sunday.
The 25-year-old admitted: “I’ve not been on social media for a few weeks now.It’s not something I enjoy. I don’t need to be on it. It’s my life and I can do what I like.
“I enjoy not going on my phone as much as I used to. I still text my friends.
“But I see social media as a waste of my time and energy. I don’t need it or want it. I don’t find it interesting.
“I’ve got more time to do things that I want to do, I play golf and train and want to be productive.”
Of course, it’s still too early to write any driver off with 16 more races up for grabs, but the feeling in the Norris camp seems somewhat bleak going into the European triple header.
Despite sitting second in the standings, Norris also revealed he feels “unhappy” with how his MCL39 feels and isn’t bothered about winning the title.
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Asked if he was thinking about the title standings, Norris said: “No, is the answer.
“I don’t care about it and won’t think about it. It is easy for things to change.
“Oscar has done a good job. But a lot of it is just focusing on myself.
“He’s just another competitor. Another guy, he’s just dressed in the same colours.
“It’s been clear that there have been differences from last year in how the car works, how it acts, and how I’m able to get lap time out of it and perform.
“I’m obviously not happy at the moment, but we will see with the upgrades this week.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, 40, unfollowed everyone on Instagram, including all of his Ferrari team, in the days after his played-down radio spat with team strategists in Miami last time out.
On this, Norris added: “Lewis can do what he wants, good for him.”
The Brit’s first season since leaving Mercedes has been a big let down so far, as the Scuderia were meant to be challenging for the title after finishing second in the Constructors race last season.
Instead, Andrea Stella’s team linger a staggering 152 points behind leaders McLaren in the, while Hamilton sits 90 points adrift of Piastri and behind both Silver Arrow drivers in seventh.
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Trump administration officials say Secret Service probing Comey’s ’86 47′ social media post
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that federal law enforcement is investigating a social media post made by former FBI Director James Comey that she and other Republicans suggest is a call for violence against President Trump.
In an Instagram post, Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.”
Numerous Trump administration officials, including Noem, said Comey was advocating for the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. “DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately,” Noem wrote.
Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by the Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
The post has since been deleted. Comey subsequently wrote, “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.
“It never occurred to me,” Comey added, “but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Comey’s original post sparked outrage among conservatives on social media, with Donald Trump Jr. accusing Comey of calling for his father’s killing.
Current FBI Director Kash Patel said he was aware of the post and was conferring with the Secret Service and its director.
James Blair, White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs, noted that the post came at a delicate time given that Trump is traveling in the Middle East.
“This is a Clarion Call from Jim Comey to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East,” Blair wrote on X.
Comey, who was FBI director from 2013-17, was fired by Trump during the president’s first term amid the bureau’s probe into allegations of ties between Russian officials and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Comey wrote about his career in the bestselling memoir “A Higher Loyalty.”
He is now a crime fiction writer and is promoting his latest book, “FDR Drive,” which is being released Tuesday.
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Online abuse: Eni Aluko & Azeem Rafiq tell Ofcom of social media abuse affecting sports personalities
Those interviewed told researchers about the scale of abuse they suffered and its impacts.
Participants were chosen because they had experience of abuse. Former Yorkshire cricketer Rafiq encountered abuse and threats after documenting the racism he suffered in the game.
“The abuse left me feeling incredibly paranoid, at times, and often made me question my sanity,” Rafiq says in the report.
“The impact of this experience on me as a human being and on my mental health has damaged my life to such an extent, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to quantify it.”
Aluko, who last month won the first stage of a libel case after being targeted on social media by ex-footballer Joey Barton, is not quoted in the report but did contribute to it.
Ex-international rugby referee Barnes detailed the abuse aimed at his wife, which he says “shocked” him. Much of it originated after contentious decisions taken in games, he said.
“I wasn’t active on social media. She then became the subject of the abuse, with people attacking her personally via direct messages to her social media accounts and work email address, or by posting fake and offensive friend requests. The abuse went on for some time,” Barnes said.
He said “misogynistic language” and even “threats of sexual violence” were aimed at her.
The report documents how “a female TV sports presenter will get horrendous amounts of abuse, often just about what she’s wearing”.
Another contributor said: “I didn’t leave my house for a week because of the impact of online abuse, the sort of wave [of intensity] and the amount of people that are abusing you.”
Researchers were told that the fear of receiving more abuse led to some of the contributors turning down work.
Sanjay Bhandari, chair of the anti-discrimination body Kick It Out, said: “The impact of online abuse is undeniable, and the rise in discriminatory social media reports to Kick It Out last season shows it’s getting worse.”
He said the Ofcom report showed “a culture of abuse that has become normalised”.
“It’s vital that we see social media companies step up with meaningful tools that give users real control over what they see and experience online,” he added.
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Meet the Chargers social media team that only knows how to win
Reposts flood in. Likes climb faster than administrators can count.
Each spring, the Chargers know how to run up this score.
When it comes to what senior director of production Tyler Pino calls the “content Super Bowl,” the Chargers are multi-time season NFL schedule release champions. They broke the internet with popular anime videos in 2022 and 2023. A Sims 2 theme in 2024 kept online sleuths laughing for weeks at inside jokes.
The schedule reveal video posted Wednesday in the pixelated style of Minecraft surpassed one million views on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 45 minutes, and four million in three hours, confirming the Chargers’ social media dynasty. The next closest NFL team schedule video was viewed roughly 1.5 million times during that same span.
The Chargers set the bar among a throwback action figure commercial, a Mario Kart parody and an ad for a prescription drug. They had some brief competition when the Indianapolis Colts also dropped a Minecraft-themed video only to delete it roughly an hour later. The Jets even poked fun at the unexpected twin videos.
Each year’s creative videos have suddenly become more notable than the schedules they promote. But the Chargers’ content team tries to stay focused on the process of winning fans over one like, lower-case letter and laugh at a time.
“I don’t think our goal is to be the best on the internet,” said Megan Julian, Chargers senior director of digital and social media, “but our goal is to build generational fandom on the internet.”
Known for their creativity and casual humor, the Chargers were named the NFL’s best Twitter account by Complex in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
When Julian joined the Chargers in 2018, she was the only person behind the social media accounts. The franchise had just returned to L.A., where a whole generation had grown up without the NFL. Fans were already invested in different teams. Instead of trying to change an established fan’s mind, the content team aimed to cultivate new ones by reaching different, younger audiences that will fill SoFi Stadium for generations.
Allie Raymond, left, and Megan Julian of the Chargers’ social media team, walk on the practice field during rookie minicamp at the team’s headquarters in El Segundo.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Julian made the Chargers’ social media accounts feel like entering a group chat. The team, which includes director of organic social media Allie Raymond; Jaemin Cho, the senior vertical video coordinator; Lorren Walker, programming manager for organic social media; and coordinator Hannah Johnson, post in lower-case text in short, sharp bursts. They never overexplain the joke.
Here, among friends, it’s already known.
“You’re talking with the fans,” Julian said. “Not at them.”
Occasionally commenters complain about the lower case letters or can’t keep up with the newest slang. The schedule release videos often include pointed jokes toward opposing players or teams. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, who controversially sat out for one play last year because he was tired, ran out of gas in a go-kart race in this year’s video.
But the unique tone has built a distinct brand for an organization that is fighting for any way to stand out in a crowded L.A. market.
“We’re creative, and we think a little bit off kilter,” said David Bretto, the director of creative video. “But we do that because we’re allowed to do that, and the organization sees the success.”
A member of the Chargers’ content team films players taking part in rookie minicamp at the team’s headquarters in El Segundo on May 9.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
— Jason Levine, Chargers senior vice president of brand, creative and content
The content team’s reputation precedes them. When videographers checked bags at the NFL combine, security guards asked what they were cooking for the schedule release. Incoming rookies asked who is behind the keys of the social media accounts that go viral with the latest TikTok trends.
Inspired by the energy of young, charismatic stars on the 2018 team including Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Derwin James Jr., Julian started to craft a social media persona that matched the on-field personnel. For the franchise’s current era, showing the players’ personalities remains at the forefront.
Some players welcome the sight of the social media team holding a tiny microphone tethered to their phones. Linebacker Daiyan Henley is as ubiquitous on the Chargers’ TikTok account as the team’s logo. A more reserved personality such as Justin Herbert still shines through in videos that showcase the star quarterback’s humble charm.
Highlight videos of Herbert avoiding their cameras still turn into internet gold because while this is a football team, football is only a fraction of the franchise’s digital brand.
“There are only 20 days a year that we actually play the sport,” said Jason Levine, Chargers senior vice president of brand, creative and content. “Then the other 345, we’re just entertaining people.”
Allie Raymond records players and coaches taking part in Chargers rookie minicamp on May 9.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
The biggest internet stage is the schedule release. The Seattle Seahawks sparked a revolution in 2016 with a cupcake-themed video in which special ingredients representing each city of their opponents were stirred into a batter. Some teams hire production companies and outside contractors to prepare for the big reveal. This season, NBA legend Allen Iverson and actress Brenda Song made cameos for the Buffalo Bills and the Rams, respectively.
But Julian proudly notes that all of the Chargers’ videos have been produced in-house.
The Chargers’ first major schedule release video came in 2019 when they represented each opponent with stock footage. A dog dressed in a lion’s mane. A person in a bear suit on a picnic. Both games against the AFC West rivals Kansas City Chiefs were represented by awkward chefs. The 73-second collection of clips was so weird it somehow worked.
The day before it dropped, Julian and Bretto nearly scrapped the project all together.
“To me, schedule release kind of feels like you’re on a cliff,” Bretto said. “You put all this work to get to the top of this mountain, and at the very end, there’s nothing to do but just jump. You don’t know how the audience is going to react.”
Just count the tens of thousands of likes. The reception is clear.
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