Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 7h

We will be discussing my book Copaganda and then the incredible new film Criminal, which premiers today on the New Yorker’s YouTube channel. Tune in to hear from all the people involved.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 7h

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

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

Lawyers need to be pushed from individual client strategy designed for the world and legal system in which they were trained to broader strategies rooted in the politics of solidarity necessary for a fight against fascism.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

If you are in any of these institutions, the most important thing you can do is insist to your lawyers--and hire lawyers who understand--that none of the institutions can survive in the long run without a shared collective action strategy.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

It amounts not only to a totally uncoordinated response that allows the fascists to pick people off one at a time and to give the sense that the fascists are more powerful than they are, but it also destroys the kinds of solidarity and collective action that we need.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

They're giving advice to these institutions that they think will help protect their individual clients--retreating, laying low, making concessions, obeying in advance, etc. The combination of all these isolated, individual acts of reasonable self-protection is a disaster.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

Lawyers are not only risk averse by nature, but they are trained to think about individual clients. This is a bad problem in the kind of complex Prisoner's Dilemma situation we find ourselves.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

In this context of fear, people and institutions have a natural impulse to try to protect themselves. This makes sense. But it's also where traditional lawyering becomes dangerous. The mindset of many of the elite lawyers being hired by these institutions is a big problem.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

Across elite sectors of our society--universities, philanthropic foundations, law firms, non-profits, various companies, etc...--the fascist movement is targeting institutions and creating a climate of extraordinary fear.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

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.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 16h

that would be great! send me a message on my Copaganda Newsletter substack?

Reposted by alec karakatsanis

Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 3d

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...

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 2d

Bring the whole class. Tell the teacher it will be a great experience for everyone!

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Reposted by alec karakatsanis

Alexander M. Krijgsman @vagabonderro.bsky.social · 2d

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.

alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 2d

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.

alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

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.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 2d

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.

alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

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.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 2d

came twice this year for events, including last week...

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

nothing public planned yet but will announce here when i do!

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

And finally Milwaukee on Wednesday, October 8. This should be an incredible event we have planned for a long time. Please join us: www.milwaukeeturners.org/vel-phillips...

Vel Phillips Forum — Milwaukee Turners

www.milwaukeeturners.org

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

And in the evening of October 7 in Madison at an amazing venue: roomofonesown.com/event/2025-1...

MADSA Presents: Copaganda with Alec Karakatsanis

roomofonesown.com

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

Second, two events in Madison on Tuesday, October 7. First, 11:30am at the state legislature--open to the public, and especially legislators and staff: www.facebook.com/events/s/cof...

Coffee and Donuts at the Capitol with Alec Karakatsanis

Event in Madison, WI by Representative Ryan Clancy and Ryan Clancy on Tuesday, October 7 2025

www.facebook.com

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

First, Minneaopolis Monday October 6. Please come join us. This will be very interesting. moonpalacebooks.com/events/37121...

Book Talk: Copaganda | Moon Palace Books

Your neighborhood independent bookstore located in south Minneapolis. Selling new and used books since 2012.

moonpalacebooks.com

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 3d

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.

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 5d

Did you read the last text in the thread with the alt text?

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 5d

As I explained here with a basketball analogy (I was in Denver), by selectively curating true anecdote, the news can distort and even render grotesque our understanding of the world, including the most important things like what makes us safe. bsky.app/profile/leve...

The Lever @levernews.com · 13d

Judging crime by media coverage is like judging a basketball player only by their missed shots.

@equalityalec.bsky.social joins Lever Time to explain the real game.

Watch the full episode here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Ps...

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alec karakatsanis @equalityalec.bsky.social · 5d

Alt text version:

The Department of Defense has quietly delayed its cleanup of harmful “forever chemicals” at nearly 140 military installations across the country, according to a list of sites analyzed by The New York Times.

The Pentagon has been one of the most intensive users of these chemicals, which are also known as PFAS and are a key ingredient in firefighting foam. For decades, crews at U.S. military bases would train to battle flames by lighting jet-fuel fires, then putting them out with large amounts of foam, which would leach into the soil and groundwater.

In 2017, military communities nationwide began to report alarming levels of the chemicals in their drinking water. A growing body of research has linked PFAS exposure to serious health concerns including certain types of cancer as well as child developmental and fertility issues.

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