The trope that associates violent profiteering by elites and their henchmen with being “tough on crime” was pushed by both right wing and liberal media organizations for decades. It is one of the great achievements of modern propaganda to associate cruelty and domination and violence with “safety.”

Trump saying today that the pope is “WEAK on crime” is extremely funny, but as with much of what Trump does, he also helps expose how baseless and cynical the liberal establishment has become.

God this is so accurate

THREAD. This single headline in the NYT contains two outrageous claims reported as fact: 1) Vance "tried" to end the war; and 2) he "opposed" it. Neither is supported, but the thing to understand is: why is lying about the *intention* of powerful people so key to propaganda?

“One thing I have learned is the most effective strategy at all times…is centering your heart with the most vulnerable people…and then relentlessly telling the truth about what you see.” #amreading Alec Karakatsanis’ excellent COPAGANDA. #booksky @thenewpress.bsky.social @equalityalec.bsky.social

The President of the United States just said “A whole civilization will die tonight.” Any politician or person within the chain of command who does not speak up and do everything in their power to stop this will be complicit in the gravest crime against humanity, and there’s no return from that.

THREAD. An important report was just released, putting another nail in the coffin of Obama-era "police reform" copaganda. After a study of 13 years of "police reform" in Puerto Rico, police violence *got worse.* The "reform" itself has a budget of $20 million per year.

Join us in Paris tonight:

I'm excited to announce the publication in France of my book on police body cameras--one of the great achievements of liberal Copaganda in modern history. I'll be in Marseille on March 29 and Paris on March 30 for events. Please join us!

A common mistake is that the most nefarious propaganda must look like Fox News. In fact, huge resources are put into propaganda like the post below—which uses baseless assertions and innuendo couched as reasonable progressive-feeling analysis—to push uncritical consumers of info to the right.

Some shameful moments from Seattle Mayor here that reflect either dishonesty or stunning lack of familiarity with surveillance. And a cameo from the dangerous NYU Policing Project whose job is to sell horrible stuff to low-information libs. Basically all happening exactly as I said in my book.

I'm excited to announce the publication in France of my book on police body cameras--one of the great achievements of liberal Copaganda in modern history. I'll be in Marseille on March 29 and Paris on March 30 for events. Please join us!

THREAD. The sanctions on various ICC judges and UN officials is one of the gravest possible threats to any conception of the rule of law and protecting humanity from unrestrained extermination of anyone without power to resist. But there is a completely ignored component in U.S. media.

I’ve been studying the punishment bureaucracy and suing judges, prosecutors, and police across the U.S. for more than 15 years. One defining feature of our legal system is that there is rarely any accountability for massive corruption and criminality by those with power.

There has been an alarming development in our legal system. Judges are starting to contract with a private corporation started by an ex-Palantir employee--whose bio says he is also a former speechwriter for Israel's UN ambassador--to have **secretive proprietary AI help decide cases for them.**

THREAD. I have to say that I am very disappointed with John Oliver. I finally watched his segment on police body cameras, and it was abysmal. Missed the whole point, and in the process bought into some of the worst copaganda about them.

Come join us for this event tomorrow (Friday) in Montreal!

One thing not getting enough attention now that the U.S. has admitted to exterminating hundreds of elementary school girls is that many very powerful people lied about it.

What a shocking story, great local news coverage, and inspiring work all around. This is what it looks like when people (and lawyers) fight back for a more just society. lataco.com/ice-rams-veh...

When I watched a smiling Lionel Messi applauding Trump’s cartoon villain bloodlust, I thought about Muhammad Ali going on international television to deliver his poem condemning the Attica prison massacre, telling the world that fascists would never conquer the human spirit.

The Democratic Party's apparent plan is to have every worker in the U.S. forced to wear a surveillance camera. One of the many consequences of the celebration and funding of this nonsense in elite liberal circles. As with any policy, ask yourself: what kind of society does this reflect and create?

On top of the concentration camps, kidnapping, and murders, the news now reports ICE is buying microwave tech to kill the car engines of first amendment legal observers. And Democrats are still not even asking to claw back the 2025 budget increases.

I'll be speaking in Ottawa next Tuesday, March 10. Spread the word! I'll be talking about our groundbreaking quest to establish a constitutional right for children to hug their parents, and what it means for fights against power, profit, and propaganda in increasingly fascist times.

I'll be speaking in Montreal at McGill on March 13. Please join us. I'll be talking about our groundbreaking quest to establish a constitutional right for children to hug their parents, and what it means for fights against power, profit, and propaganda in authoritarian times.

We are opening up our amazing Artist in Residence fellowship again. If you know any formerly incarcerated artists or artists otherwise directly impacted by state repression, please share. It's an incredible opportunity with a wonderful organization. civilrightscorps.org/artist-in-re...

THREAD. I want to describe a new propaganda trend. As I explained in Copaganda, we are starting to see a lot of Card Carrying Elites (economists, Atlantic writers, Harvard professors, philanthropists) feign intellectual edginess by claiming prisons are bad and even obsolete.

THREAD. I want to describe a new propaganda trend. As I explained in Copaganda, we are starting to see a lot of Card Carrying Elites (economists, Atlantic writers, Harvard professors, philanthropists) feign intellectual edginess by claiming prisons are bad and even obsolete.

One thing that is often overlooked is how many amazing people there are doing the most difficult, selfless work in our society every day. The Texas Jail Project always inspires me. Their hard work uncovers stuff we would never know, and save people’s lives. www.instagram.com/p/DVJ5HFQjnM...

One of the most bone chilling and outrageous stories you’ll see about the authoritarian nature of our institutions. And extremely important to think about the fact that it was done by a liberal DA in a city governed by Democrats. jacobin.com/2026/02/wilk...

THREAD. There are profound parallels in how the news is covering violent repression by ICE and how the news covered violent repression by local police in 2020.

This is an explicit playbook

If you've ever espoused the "cops need more training" line yourself (I know I did), this is a good guy to follow to get de-programmed.

Have you ever wondered why the circulation of horrific videos of police assaulting and murdering people usually results in more political support and resources for police? This thread is a great explainer.

THREAD. There are profound parallels in how the news is covering violent repression by ICE and how the news covered violent repression by local police in 2020.

I'm excited to be doing a virtual book talk tomorrow night with the Radical Cat bookstore in Reno, Nevada. We'll discuss propaganda and our authoritarian moment. The event will be at 6pm local time/9pm eastern. Instructions for joining remotely: theradicalcat.square.site/product/febr...

There have been many dozens of this kind of strange comment in response to my posts on twitter and bluesky. It's frightening to see so many partisan Democrats with so little understanding of what their leaders do in DC. Many ordinary people have no idea the extent to which they are being sold out.

I will be speaking about civil rights lawyering, propaganda, and authoritarianism tonight at SUNY Oswego and tomorrow at Syracuse law school at lunchtime. If you or any friends/family are in the area please join us.

New interview with @equalityalec.bsky.social up this morning -- we talk about his work with Civil Rights Corps, the history of plea bargaining, the body camera con, the ICE budget, and much more. Listen: aidanmryan.substack.com/p/13-copagan...

There is no easier or more important political position to take than to do everything possible to stop this. It will change our society forever, and Democrats are going along with it.

There is no easier or more important political position to take than to do everything possible to stop this. It will change our society forever, and Democrats are going along with it.

THREAD. Every day new evidence emerges of ICE agents committing the *most serious violent crimes* in our criminal code and then *lying about it.* It's important to draw correct lessons from this, but anyone with sense is excluded from mainstream news.

This passage from Copaganda seems particularly relevant:

THREAD. Every day new evidence emerges of ICE agents committing the *most serious violent crimes* in our criminal code and then *lying about it.* It's important to draw correct lessons from this, but anyone with sense is excluded from mainstream news.

A few news cycles later, and Trump's ICE and CBP are already using the ludicrous Democratic Party push for body cameras to talk about increased funding.

If you teach/study Media then you might already have a sub to @mediamagemc.bsky.social; if not, get one! Our Feb issue has just come out and it features an interview I did with @equalityalec.bsky.social about his excellent book, 'Copaganda'. www.englishandmedia.co.uk/emc-magazine...

THREAD. One of the great propaganda myths of our society is that police spend their time dealing with "violent crime." ICE is no different. "Violence" is a pretext to sell it. Did you know that only 4% of all police time in the U.S. is devoted to "violent crime"?

Last summer, a sheriff put it plainly: the federal government “depends on sheriffs and county jails to have bed space,” and his ICE contract helps “pay the bills.” Marie Gottschalk on books by @briannanofil.bsky.social @jesspish.bsky.social @michellesphelps.bsky.social @equalityalec.bsky.social:

One dangerous thing in this moment of Democrats focusing on fake "reforms" for ICE is that many news outlets, pundits, politicians, cops, and the for-profit policing industry are using this moment to downplay or erase the rampant lawlessness, surveillance, and brutality of contemporary policing.

One way to judge a society's investments is asking: "what kinds of people and relationships will this investment create?" Sit with this question. Investment in repressive bureaucracies has become so normalized that we are desensitized to how far away from the best parts of humanity it takes us.

As the negotiations over DHS budget continue, please remember: the ICE detention budget alone was exploded in 2025 so it is now 62% greater than the entire Bureau of Prisons. People are not clocking what this infusion of cash to build concentration camps will do to our society.