"The term was popularized during the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, when Southern authorities discounted African-American protests as being driven by Northern white radicals, rather than being legitimate expressions of grievances.[1][2]"

"The term gained further prominence during the George Floyd protests, with local officials in Minneapolis claiming that most protesters were not from the city, despite jail records and social media indicating otherwise.[3] The term was also used during the Ferguson unrest in 2014.[4]"

Don't get me wrong. I think some have crossed the line and that's just dumb, but some of the police state tactics to rein them in have been equally dumb, and college administrations who called them in have only served to escalate things.