THREAD. One important chapter in my Copaganda book describes how a small group of pro-police professors corrupted the field of criminology. Somehow, I've been invited to speak at the 2025 American Society of Criminology annual conference this week. Should be interesting...

The scandal unfolding in the California courts with a District Attorney submitting fake cases, holdings, quotations, and other hallucinations is unlike anything I've seen. We first noticed the anomalies in an emergency habeas corpus petition we filed. And then it got weirder.

THREAD. Today is my birthday, and it has been a difficult year for civil rights work. But it was an honor to speak about our work and about my Copaganda book at a women's prison.

The DC grand jury refusing to indict on a felony and the petit jury finding him not guilty is a great example of why people in power have tried so hard for so many decades to prevent cases from getting to juries. It's one of the most important, basic forms of democracy.

It’s an honor to be this years keynote speaker tomorrow in Stowe, Vermont. I’ll be discussing propaganda and what we can all do about it together. If you live in Vermont come join us:

THREAD: There is no explanation for the New York Times continue this level of unethical reporting. I’ve talked to reporters and editors there and no one defends this: reporting the stated reasons of the government as its *actual* reasons.

I'm announcing a special last-minute event tomorrow night at Dartmouth. I'll be joined by fantastic former NPR reporter/professor Sandhya Dirks. If you know anyone nearby, encourage them to come talk about propaganda, the complicity of liberal institutions, and authoritarianism.

THREAD. We have just filed a landmark new civil rights case in Colorado in our campaign across the country to establish a constitutional right for children to hug their parents. More information to come soon, but this is a big deal.

A few days ago, this book was left in the book box in front of our building. I'm only on chapter three, but I'll go ahead and recommend it already. Seems like an important text.

If you missed any of the events on the Copaganda book tour, this great video of the Milwaukee event just went live. Thanks so much to all the amazing people I met in Wisconsin and beyond. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfJl...

Almost every single New York Times story lies about this. It’s just an alternate reality, with the truth lost down the memory hole. The bipartisan support for this was because leaders in both parties were worried about the effects of TikTok on perceptions of Israel

THREAD: This was an all-white jury in rural Louisiana and a judge appointed by Trump. But when ordinary people hear about the everyday brutality pervasive inside our jails, they are outraged. But something deeper is going on here:

Understanding Copaganda and Violence ft Lawrence Grandpre and Alec Karak... www.youtube.com/live/BW9DkAc...

LIVE NOW! Understanding Copaganda & Violence ft Lawrence Grandpre & Alec Karakatsanis w/ @imixwhatilike.bsky.social @rjohnston815.bsky.social @equalityalec.bsky.social & Lawrence Grandpre Understanding Copaganda & Violence ft Lawrence Grandpre and Alec Karakatsanis www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9D...

The U.S. and the Philippines are the only two countries with a for-profit bail industry, says civil rights lawyer @equalityalec.bsky.social. The insistence that people in pre-trial detention pay to get out of jail leads to "millions of coerced guilty pleas" by poor people each year, he says.

These points about how people in power--from local police to national politicians to university presidents--benefit from the New York Times helping them lie about their intentions are very important to understand and reflect on.

This is driving me crazy. The New York Times calling this madness an “anti-drug operation” is one of the worst forms of propaganda: accepting stated motivations of powerful people as the truth.

The “logic” that the government can assassinate random people from Colombia that it suspects of selling drugs with no process because they are at “war” means these people believe they can kill anyone they want whenever they want.

Very excited to announce this major event in Los Angeles at the USC School of Journalism. It will be an important conversation about propaganda, government repression, and the role of liberal institutions like news media, pundits, universities, and nonprofits. annenberg.usc.edu/events/copag...

One of the most sickening but important things about writing my copaganda book was digging more deeply into how elite universities are so deeply connected to manufacturing consent among educated liberals for many of the ugliest and most depraved things about our world.

“LAPD wants judge to lift an order restricting use of force against the press” 😭😭😭 “Ahead of this Saturday’s No Kings protests, the Los Angeles Police Department has filed an emergency motion asking a judge to lift an injunction that restricts their use of force against the press.”

Exciting reminder that I'll be doing this great event for Copaganda tonight (Friday, October 17) in Washington, DC. Please join us. www.sankofa.com/events/book-...

It’s a sign of how lost the liberal establishment is that its primary solution to egregious, ineffective, illegal government repression is to require ICE use more surveillance technology while it keeps doing what it does.

I spent the week at the police surveillance convention and let me tell you my biggest observation: The name of the game now is consolidating as much information as humanely possible from surveillance devices, the internet, other governmental data, and literally a million other places. 🧵

We have free copies for anyone in prison in the United States or Canada.

Thanks to @equalityalec.bsky.social for copies of "Copaganda," which shows the role media, security forces, universities and "liberal" politicians have in growing the security state and ensuring unequal justice. We'll send these to the prison book clubs we support and fulfill individual requests.

That’s one way to put it…

THREAD. Today is the 6-month anniversary of the publication of Copaganda. It has only become more relevant. Get a copy for someone in your life today.

As the 1st part in a series about the failure of many liberals to grasp how repression works, I wrote up my recent reflections on a somewhat hidden underbelly of what we are seeing with ICE and other far-right attacks: emboldening predatory behavior. equalityalec.substack.com/p/something-...

The book, Copaganda by @equalityalec.bsky.social goes into detail about this type of deceptive reporting. Great book that shines a light on the practices used to shape false narratives.

Another good time to remind people that “tear gas” is a term of copaganda that police, the military, and its manufacturers use to obscure that it is a dangerous chemical weapon internationally banned for use even in warfare.

THREAD. Did you know that at about 1/3 of all stranger homicides in the U.S. are perpetrated by police? But there's something hidden here that is important to understand in this authoritarian moment.

This is a really important thread for everyone who calls themselves a progressive. We need to challenge the narratives we’ve been told about safety and danger.

This is a very interesting and important thread:

Highly recommend this book! I wish everyone would read it

Great thread.

THREAD. Did you know that at about 1/3 of all stranger homicides in the U.S. are perpetrated by police? But there's something hidden here that is important to understand in this authoritarian moment.

Last night in New York, Copaganda was awarded a book prize. It's nice, because the book continues to be essentially blacklisted by major outlets. I sadly missed the ceremony, but I had an incredible time in Milwaukee, where police complained about my book talk... goddard.org/bookprizes/

By the way, journalists do a huge disservice to their readers with stories that quote cops and right-wing lawmakers upset about judges setting affordable bail without citing the evidence that pretrial detention leads to more crime and causes people to plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit.

I'm proud to have been involved in this new musical documentary by Robe Imbriano about the horrors of the money bail system and the Harris County jail. It was many years in the making, but it has finally premiered for the public today: www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

I will be live tomorrow at 8am eastern on @democracynow.org.

THREAD. Across the U.S., a lot of skilled lawyers, many of whom are well meaning, pose a big threat right now to our society. The legal advice the profession is giving to clients is walking us off a fascist cliff. We as lawyers need to shift our thinking.

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram. Community action works. Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

You should absolutely go to these if you're able. Alec's book is as insightful as it is infuriating and helps bring into sharp focus many of the pressing issues we need to address if we're to change things for the better.

Share this with friends and family in Minneapolis, Madison, and Milwaukee. And also journalists, university professors, public defenders, and other people within institutions that need to be thinking more critically and rigorously about propaganda, narrative, power, and strategy.

THREAD. This week, I'm doing Copaganda events in Minneapolis, Madison, and Milwaukee about the role of elite institutions--media, Democrats, universities, nonprofits--in the great problems of our time. And what we can do about it together.

It is a consequence of intentional editorial decisions about what "news" to cover and what to largely ignore that Trump's recent decision to have people across the U.S. get cancer, developmental diseases, become infertile, and die is not felt as a "public safety" emergency.

THREAD. In Trump's speech to an unprecedented gathering of generals, he announced that he was preparing to order them to use American "cities as training grounds for our military." I want to highlight a few other statements that are bone chilling and put them into context that U.S media obscures.

This is exciting. Do you know an amazing student graduating in 2026? Maybe someone who wants to go to law school? Or anyone who wants to do investigation, research, and client support in constitutional cases? Come fight the great injustices of our time with us. civilrightscorps.org/investigativ...

THREAD. Last week, I raised serious factual, journalistic, and ethical issues with recent reporting by PBS. At a time of rising authoritarianism, I showed how irresponsible the reporting was. What has happened since is pathetic.