Minneapolis to Hire Influencers for Messaging on George Floyd Trial |

George Floyd's murder case is bound to be the new trial of the century -- and it seems Minneapolis wants to get ahead of any bad publicity ... 'cause they're bringing on "influencers" to peddle their narrative as it unfolds.

The City Council made the announcement this week, saying they're rolling out a new initiative ahead of jury selection/opening arguments next month ... namely, to partner with influential social media users to share public information with underserved communities -- some of which, they say, might not tune in or have access to traditional news mediums.

The Council described the effort, in part, this way ... "The goal is to increase access to information to communities that do not typically follow mainstream news sources or City communications channels and/or who do not consume information in English."

Sounds nice, but reading between the lines ... many folks are saying this is actually a move by the City to play spin doctor for itself -- as these influencers won't be able to post freely.

Fact is ... the 6 users they bring on will be paid $2,000 a pop -- so they're temporarily on the City's payroll. Not just that, but the Council made clear the messaging will be "city-approved" ... which made ears perk up and start to question the whole thing. A lot of people are already speculating the content will be fully pro-City/defense.

You'll recall ... Minneapolis experienced unrest in the months after the George Floyd video surfaced. The peaceful protests, at times, spun out of control into violence. Some believe the City wants to avoid that kind of reaction again, and are trying to get ahead of it.

Justice For George Floyd Protest in Minneapolis

Gallery Launch Gallery GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS Launch Gallery Getty

Unclear who the City has in mind to hire -- but for $2,000 ... something tells us it ain't gonna be anyone top-tier as far as mainstream influencers go. It'll also be interesting to see how this plays out in real-time -- especially since the City's already catching flak.