FIFA World Cup fans crowd around a Bank of America tent at Fan Fest in EaDo in hopes of getting their own viral Houston-themed charm bracelet on July 4, 2026.
Ashley Soebroto/Houston Chronicle
As Houston police worked overtime to help pull off Houston’s $114 million security plan for the FIFA World Cup, department brass were busy feting an anonymous influencer with a barbecue lunch and a police escort to an Astros game.
The anonymous German X.com account “Freddy” invited some 440,000 users to follow along as he shared pictures of he and his friends eating barbecue with Chief Noe Diaz and his top staff at HPD Headquarters then leaving with trinkets, including HPD challenge coins and other branded merchandise.
READ MORE: New report reveals how often Houston police turned people over to ICE
Article continues below this ad
“Our most American experience so far,” Freddy tweeted on June 15. “We met with the Houston Police Department and ate typical Texan BBQ together. It looked in there just like in the movies.”
Our most American experience so far🇺🇸
We met with the Houston Police department and ate typical Texan BBQ together. It looked in there just like in the movies. They even put on Ella Langley just for us.😂 pic.twitter.com/zN5r2gTlqL
— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 15, 2026
Freddy’s upbeat posts documenting his travels in America caught fire during the World Cup, netting him a NASA tour, a meeting with musician Ella Langley and posh hotel stays at Houston’s Post Oak Hotel, courtesy of Texans legend J.J. Watt. Officials with President Donald Trump’s administration also say Freddy is set to visit the White House at some point. His followers now top 762,000.
But it’s not clear why Diaz and his staff set aside time to meet with the overnight celebrity. HPD did not respond to questions about the visit or police escort. In response to a records request for the department’s spending on Freddy’s visit, officials said they had no responsive information.
Article continues below this ad
The man behind the Freddy account also did not respond to a request for comment.
READ MORE: What are Houston’s goals for hosting the World Cup?
Local tourism boards and municipalities have sought to court foreign influencers in recent years, especially during the World Cup, said Louisa Shu Ying Ha, a professor at Bowling Green State University and creator of the Global Social Media Influencer Research Lab.
The idea, she said, is to improve international opinions of the city and potentially boost tourism.
“But it’s unusual that the police department, not the city or tourism board, is the one that initiates the conversation with an influencer,” Shu Ying Ha said. “I cannot comment or speculate why the Houston police department needs him to promote the department or safety in Houston.”
Article continues below this ad
‘Thought he’d be fun to meet’
In a series of private X.com messages between Houston police officials and Freddy released in response to an open records request, HPD staff initiated contact with the influencer June 11. He did not immediately respond, and police officials sent the same message to him three times over two days before he wrote back.
“We would love to have you join some Houston police officers for the best BBQ Houston has to offer during your upcoming visit and show you a few of the areas that makes(sic) Houston a remarkable, diverse city,” an HPD communications aide wrote.
Freddy responded that he had a tight schedule and might have to leave out lunch to make a visit work, to which HPD staff said “the chief of the Houston Police Department and the mayor of Houston would love to meet up with you and welcome you to Houston!”
Department leaders then offered to accommodate whatever his schedule allowed, and offered a police escort to his next event.
Article continues below this ad
“Tomorrow could work for us,” Freddy responded. “Just very important to us to stay anonymous.”
Freddy ultimately met department leaders June 15, the day after Germany played a match at NRG Stadium, then attended an Astros game, during which he posted, “lol we just randomly met the mayor of Houston at the baseball game.”
Lol we just randomly met the mayor of Houston at the baseball game😭😭😭
— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 16, 2026
City Controller Chris Hollins didn’t immediately provide information on city spending during Freddy’s visit to police headquarters, but said buying food for visitors isn’t typically allowed with city money and suggested a charity or political action committee may have funded the visit.
Shu Ying Ha said it’s not clear whether the cities Freddy visited paid him for the exposure, but pointed to a Forbes article on data that suggested Freddy’s visit changed perceptions between German and American social media users.
Article continues below this ad
“This is so cool,” Freddy said in sharing the article with his followers July 15. “The power of social media.”
HPD’s interest in meeting Freddy might simply have been driven by seeing his adventures on social media and wanting to be a part of the story, said Michael Butterworth, the director for the center of sports communication and media at the University of Texas at Austin.
“He’s popular, reads as apolitical, and has generated all kinds of positive feelings about our collective identity,” he said. “Major metro police departments continue to face various criticisms, so aligning with Freddy is good PR… I imagine they thought he’d be fun to meet and would help them look like they relate to regular people.”