alec karakatsanis
@equalityalec.bsky.social
founder, Civil Rights Corps
civil rights lawyer
author of usual cruelty (2019) and
copaganda (2025)
any views expressed here are my own, and not those of civil rights corps
civil rights lawyer
author of usual cruelty (2019) and
copaganda (2025)
any views expressed here are my own, and not those of civil rights corps
Pinned
I just received the first copy of Copaganda! It will be sold anywhere books are sold. I try to explain the role of the media, the police, and academia in how we got to this authoritarian moment.
If you are following the news coverage of ICE and have a funny feeling about it, read my book Copaganda. It will change things for you. All royalties are donated to charity that fights surveillance and state violence, and we have free copies for anyone in prison and any students who can't afford it.
January 14, 2026 at 8:20 PM
If you are following the news coverage of ICE and have a funny feeling about it, read my book Copaganda. It will change things for you. All royalties are donated to charity that fights surveillance and state violence, and we have free copies for anyone in prison and any students who can't afford it.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
Was hard to pick which part of the thread to quote
It's important to be as clear as possible: the great injustices of our time are not accidents or the result of bad apples who need to sit through a seminar. They are highly planned, coordinated, and profitable.
January 14, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Was hard to pick which part of the thread to quote
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
very important threads!!!
So, no, it is not strategic for "moderate Dems" to talk about the need for more "training." It is precisely this conversation that was designed, and has been used, to get people away from the kinds of more radical solutions that the most entrenched and unjust systems need: bsky.app/profile/did:...
THREAD. This can be an important educational moment for progressive people who don't work in or study the punishment bureaucracy. Having spent 20 years in it--and just publishing a book on exactly this topic--I can say that reality works in the opposite way that Jamelle assumes.
January 14, 2026 at 4:11 PM
very important threads!!!
THREAD. Anyone who is telling you that Democrats should strategically be starting conversations about whether ICE needs better "training" is completely out of their mind.
January 14, 2026 at 4:07 PM
THREAD. Anyone who is telling you that Democrats should strategically be starting conversations about whether ICE needs better "training" is completely out of their mind.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
the definitive expert response to this discourse
THREAD. This can be an important educational moment for progressive people who don't work in or study the punishment bureaucracy. Having spent 20 years in it--and just publishing a book on exactly this topic--I can say that reality works in the opposite way that Jamelle assumes.
maybe an unpopular position on this website but i think the moderate dem focus on ICE training can be, with political pressure, the pathway to more fundamental reforms. rhetorically it is not too hard to move from “more training” to “turns out they’re untrainable and we have to start all over.”
January 14, 2026 at 3:27 AM
the definitive expert response to this discourse
THREAD. This can be an important educational moment for progressive people who don't work in or study the punishment bureaucracy. Having spent 20 years in it--and just publishing a book on exactly this topic--I can say that reality works in the opposite way that Jamelle assumes.
maybe an unpopular position on this website but i think the moderate dem focus on ICE training can be, with political pressure, the pathway to more fundamental reforms. rhetorically it is not too hard to move from “more training” to “turns out they’re untrainable and we have to start all over.”
January 14, 2026 at 3:17 AM
THREAD. This can be an important educational moment for progressive people who don't work in or study the punishment bureaucracy. Having spent 20 years in it--and just publishing a book on exactly this topic--I can say that reality works in the opposite way that Jamelle assumes.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
If you haven’t read this book yet it’s a critical book to read right now!
Chapter 2 of Copaganda explains why this is important, and how manipulating the volume of news is one way powerful institutions get us afraid of the most vulnerable people in society and unbothered by the far more consequential crimes of those with money and power.
January 12, 2026 at 8:21 PM
If you haven’t read this book yet it’s a critical book to read right now!
Air pollution kills over 100,000 people every year in the U.S., about 5 times all homicide combined. But you won't see wall-to-wall coverage of Trump's deadly announcement. The *volume* of news coverage affects who and what we are afraid of, and which larger threats we ignore.
January 12, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Air pollution kills over 100,000 people every year in the U.S., about 5 times all homicide combined. But you won't see wall-to-wall coverage of Trump's deadly announcement. The *volume* of news coverage affects who and what we are afraid of, and which larger threats we ignore.
In the chapter of Copaganda called The Big Deception, I talk about how this is one of the most important tactics of propaganda: portraying the stated motives of powerful people as their actual ones, and more broadly, lying about deeper reasons and causes for what things happen.
January 12, 2026 at 5:26 PM
In the chapter of Copaganda called The Big Deception, I talk about how this is one of the most important tactics of propaganda: portraying the stated motives of powerful people as their actual ones, and more broadly, lying about deeper reasons and causes for what things happen.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
Just interviewed Alec Karakatsanis, #Copaganda. He exposes how police & media—even your trusted NPR/NYT—work together to manufacture fear, hide real threats (like wage theft), and keep us demanding more cops & prisons.
youtu.be/4ggnu2fFqtc
@equalityalec.bsky.social
@FieldComing
youtu.be/4ggnu2fFqtc
@equalityalec.bsky.social
@FieldComing
130 – “Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News” with Alec Karakatsanis
YouTube video by Greg Godels & Pat Cummings
youtu.be
January 9, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Just interviewed Alec Karakatsanis, #Copaganda. He exposes how police & media—even your trusted NPR/NYT—work together to manufacture fear, hide real threats (like wage theft), and keep us demanding more cops & prisons.
youtu.be/4ggnu2fFqtc
@equalityalec.bsky.social
@FieldComing
youtu.be/4ggnu2fFqtc
@equalityalec.bsky.social
@FieldComing
As PBS and mainstream pundits and Democrats call for more money to ICE for "training," here's what's happening in the real world:
January 9, 2026 at 4:02 PM
As PBS and mainstream pundits and Democrats call for more money to ICE for "training," here's what's happening in the real world:
I have been tracking Democratic Senator Chris Murphy's public comments for some time. He's been one of the most cartoonish boosters of ICE and depraved purveyors of anti-immigrant sentiment. Any movement to make our world less violent and more just cannot have such leaders.
January 9, 2026 at 12:05 AM
I have been tracking Democratic Senator Chris Murphy's public comments for some time. He's been one of the most cartoonish boosters of ICE and depraved purveyors of anti-immigrant sentiment. Any movement to make our world less violent and more just cannot have such leaders.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
Excellent read. I just cited it in a forthcoming chapter that I wrote on Academic Copaganda. This book is a great starting point for academics working on police-based propaganda or media studies in general.
January 8, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Excellent read. I just cited it in a forthcoming chapter that I wrote on Academic Copaganda. This book is a great starting point for academics working on police-based propaganda or media studies in general.
The coverage of the ICE execution by PBS has been shameful. It's a case study in copaganda. They brought on Obama's former ICE director to distract from core issues, sow confusion about whether what happened was justified, and promote more $$ for police/ICE "training" industry.
January 8, 2026 at 4:26 PM
The coverage of the ICE execution by PBS has been shameful. It's a case study in copaganda. They brought on Obama's former ICE director to distract from core issues, sow confusion about whether what happened was justified, and promote more $$ for police/ICE "training" industry.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
thread
Anyone who has read Copaganda knows that we are in the crucial early moments of virality after an extra-judicial police murder. It's extremely important for ICE that the media plays along with the idea that what happened is contested and there are multiple perspectives.
January 8, 2026 at 11:56 AM
thread
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
We have helped to distribute hundreds of copies of this book to people behind bars. Much appreciations for exposing this essential problem during these times
THREAD. With everything going on, I want to share a bit of good news. As of the end of 2025, we have sent over 2,000 free copies of Copaganda into prisons and into schools where students can't afford it.
January 7, 2026 at 9:43 PM
We have helped to distribute hundreds of copies of this book to people behind bars. Much appreciations for exposing this essential problem during these times
Anyone who has read Copaganda knows that we are in the crucial early moments of virality after an extra-judicial police murder. It's extremely important for ICE that the media plays along with the idea that what happened is contested and there are multiple perspectives.
January 7, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Anyone who has read Copaganda knows that we are in the crucial early moments of virality after an extra-judicial police murder. It's extremely important for ICE that the media plays along with the idea that what happened is contested and there are multiple perspectives.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
I highly recommend reading alec's book. In fact, it's imperative that everyone read alec's book.
THREAD. With everything going on, I want to share a bit of good news. As of the end of 2025, we have sent over 2,000 free copies of Copaganda into prisons and into schools where students can't afford it.
January 6, 2026 at 3:50 PM
I highly recommend reading alec's book. In fact, it's imperative that everyone read alec's book.
THREAD. With everything going on, I want to share a bit of good news. As of the end of 2025, we have sent over 2,000 free copies of Copaganda into prisons and into schools where students can't afford it.
January 6, 2026 at 3:44 PM
THREAD. With everything going on, I want to share a bit of good news. As of the end of 2025, we have sent over 2,000 free copies of Copaganda into prisons and into schools where students can't afford it.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
No matter how broken you think our justice system and society are, they’re far worse.
THREAD. Every year, I tell the story of Ezell Gilbert. It's the story of one of the most remarkable cases in U.S. history, and you’ve probably never heard of it. The story of what the U.S. government did to him is vital for understanding the current moment we are in.
January 3, 2026 at 4:56 AM
No matter how broken you think our justice system and society are, they’re far worse.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
A horrifying thread about the intrinsic injustices baked into the U.S. criminal legal system. Read this and prepare to be appalled.
THREAD. Every year, I tell the story of Ezell Gilbert. It's the story of one of the most remarkable cases in U.S. history, and you’ve probably never heard of it. The story of what the U.S. government did to him is vital for understanding the current moment we are in.
January 2, 2026 at 11:51 PM
A horrifying thread about the intrinsic injustices baked into the U.S. criminal legal system. Read this and prepare to be appalled.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
THREAD. Every year, I tell the story of Ezell Gilbert. It's the story of one of the most remarkable cases in U.S. history, and you’ve probably never heard of it. The story of what the U.S. government did to him is vital for understanding the current moment we are in.
January 2, 2026 at 6:36 PM
THREAD. Every year, I tell the story of Ezell Gilbert. It's the story of one of the most remarkable cases in U.S. history, and you’ve probably never heard of it. The story of what the U.S. government did to him is vital for understanding the current moment we are in.
Reposted by alec karakatsanis
Important, and sickening, story of injustice in the US "justice" system.
THREAD. Every year, I tell the story of Ezell Gilbert. It's the story of one of the most remarkable cases in U.S. history, and you’ve probably never heard of it. The story of what the U.S. government did to him is vital for understanding the current moment we are in.
January 2, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Important, and sickening, story of injustice in the US "justice" system.
THREAD. Every year, I tell the story of Ezell Gilbert. It's the story of one of the most remarkable cases in U.S. history, and you’ve probably never heard of it. The story of what the U.S. government did to him is vital for understanding the current moment we are in.
January 2, 2026 at 6:36 PM
THREAD. Every year, I tell the story of Ezell Gilbert. It's the story of one of the most remarkable cases in U.S. history, and you’ve probably never heard of it. The story of what the U.S. government did to him is vital for understanding the current moment we are in.