Daily Beast – The fastest George Floyd protest updates come from Twitter accounts run by a collective of anonymous journalists, which they intend to be both pro-demonstrator and also accurate. It sounds a full-time job, and then some.“Pretty much all my time is dedicated to this,” one of the reporters behind the NYC Protest Updates 2020 (@protest_nyc) Twitter account told The Daily Beast. “I wake up and open my laptop. If I’m on the streets that day, I eat and then fall asleep as soon as I get home. If I’m not, I’m on the scanner, doing research or organizing logistics pretty much all day.”  Since its creation last week, over 11,000 people have followed NYC Protest Updates for fast, on-the-ground reporting conducted by self-described “young, independent journalists.” These reporters, who requested to remain anonymous to protect their jobs and safety, face no shortage of competition from mainstream and local media. But the group’s fast, accurate tweets have become a trusted source for protesters and larger outlets alike.  Two professional reporters began the account. One is a man recently laid off from a Brooklyn paper due to coronavirus-related cuts and another is a woman currently employed by local television news in New York. They are both in their early to mid-twenties and rely on a network of volunteers. One of the volunteers has freelanced for print publications, but the rest are, in the organizers’ words, “amateurs.”  “[They] have blown us away with the quality of their reporting,” the male journalist said over a direct message. “They send their information, pictures, and videos to us for editorial oversight.” Around 10 reporters cover the protests on-the-ground and 20 more monitor police scanners. A public relations professional has volunteered to promote the account….”