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Recently, I was reading No More Police by Mariame Kaba and Andrea Ritchie, when I came across a sentence that gave me a chill. In looking at the history of “copaganda,” the authors noted that as early as 1909, Ida B. Wells-Barnett pointed to the complicity of newsrooms in matters of state violence, calling them an “accessory” to lynch mobs.

Mariame Kaba has often accused journalists in our times of being “stenographers for the cops.” The historical parallel between doing PR work for lynch mobs and police, under the guise of journalism, is clear, but I was chilled by the thought of further parallels to our time.

The corporate press has aided and abetted the rise of fascism in our times. Irresponsible coverage of the rise of Donald Trump helped deliver him to the White House. The near erasure of climate change — a topic that some journalists say lowers ratings — has empowered the corporate and government entities driving climate catastrophes.

In matters of dehumanization, such as the right’s campaign to eliminate trans people from public life, some members of the corporate press are clearly culpable.

Right now, we desperately need media that helps people understand the terrible threats we face, and what actions people are taking to confront those threats. Rather than simply failing to offer those things, the corporate press is serving as an accessory to right-wing forces and capitalist interests that would destroy us. They are an accessory to rising right-wing violence. And people are dangerously reliant on it. So where does hope lie on such a terrain?

To me, hope that’s real begins with an honest acknowledgment of the truth — which is an opportunity many people are denied. Conservative buyouts of local media, the rightward slide of CNN, and the mass firings and lay-offs of editors and journalists have further warped the corporate press in ways that I find frightening.

We’ve talked on my podcast Movement Memos about what it means to participate in and cooperate with fascism, and we need media that refuses to do either. At Truthout, we acknowledge that objectivity is not real, while threats like climate collapse and the rise of fascism are completely real, and must be addressed.

Journalism that exists in opposition to the status quo must exist, and to be honest, I don’t think we can win without it — which is why I’m here.

Before all else, I’m an organizer and an activist, but I’m also a student of history, and I understand that journalism is a front of struggle. It’s one we won’t surrender without a fight, but we can’t hold it down without you.

If you’ve come this far with me, with us, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation today to support Truthout’s critical work. Click here to make a donation(Truthout is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit, #20-0031641)In solidarity,

Kelly Hayes, Podcaster and Contributing WriterP.S. We still need to add 77 new monthly donors in this campaign. If you donate every now and then please consider becoming a sustainer by making a smaller monthly donation instead. This will help us plan for the future and get you off our fundraising list!

Copaganda – Wikipedia

Copaganda

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hideThis article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (February 2022)Some of this article’s listed sources may not be reliable. (July 2022)This article may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. (July 2022)

2015 ceremony at National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

Copaganda, a portmanteau of cop and propaganda, is a phenomenon described by critics of law enforcement in which news media and other social institutions promote celebratory portrayals of police officers with the intent of swaying public opinion for the benefit of police departments and law enforcement.^[1] Copaganda has been defined as “media efforts to flatter police officers and spare them from skeptical coverage,”^[2] “pieces of media that are so scarily disconnected from the reality of cops that they end up serving as offbeat recruitment ads,”^[3] and “videos, photos, and news clips of police officers dancing, praying, or handing out free food” used to boost public relations.^[1] Copaganda has been described as promoting an image of police officers that does not reflect reality, especially for working class Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities, and reinforcing racist misconceptions worldwide.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] The term is commonly used on social media platforms such as Twitter.^[1]