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
In the U.S. and UK, university administrators are trying to crush those who speak for truth and kindness in a world of lies and cruelty. Battles like this get little attention, but they affect what every teacher feels free to say in every moment. Profoundly shapes our world.
November 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
In the U.S. and UK, university administrators are trying to crush those who speak for truth and kindness in a world of lies and cruelty. Battles like this get little attention, but they affect what every teacher feels free to say in every moment. Profoundly shapes our world.
The critique uses two Harvard professors who claim to be socialists as an example. It's actually one of the most interesting chapters because their work is so comical. My takedown was so devastating that they later accused me of trying to censor them.
November 10, 2025 at 8:06 PM
The critique uses two Harvard professors who claim to be socialists as an example. It's actually one of the most interesting chapters because their work is so comical. My takedown was so devastating that they later accused me of trying to censor them.
Authorities are now tolerating massive corruption crimes and horrific brutality inside jails and pollution crimes killing hundreds of thousands and this is why they choose to do as “law enforcement”:
November 6, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Authorities are now tolerating massive corruption crimes and horrific brutality inside jails and pollution crimes killing hundreds of thousands and this is why they choose to do as “law enforcement”:
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.
November 6, 2025 at 7:51 PM
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:
November 3, 2025 at 7:46 PM
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.
November 3, 2025 at 3:28 AM
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.
November 3, 2025 at 2:04 AM
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.
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
October 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
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:
October 25, 2025 at 7:13 PM
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:
I have a whole chapter about this in my Copaganda book with lots of kind of funny and enraging examples. But a deeper point is why:
October 23, 2025 at 3:16 AM
I have a whole chapter about this in my Copaganda book with lots of kind of funny and enraging examples. But a deeper point is why:
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.
October 23, 2025 at 3:16 AM
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.
October 22, 2025 at 6:57 PM
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.
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.
October 21, 2025 at 1:19 AM
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.
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.
October 16, 2025 at 7:03 PM
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.
That’s one way to put it…
October 15, 2025 at 11:55 PM
That’s one way to put it…
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.
October 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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.
Alt text version:
October 3, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Alt text version:
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.
October 3, 2025 at 6:29 PM
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.
Instead we get story after story of Democratic politicians and pundits essentially saying: everything Trump says is true, but the difference with *us* is that we want to be the ones who control the apparatus of government repression:
October 2, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Instead we get story after story of Democratic politicians and pundits essentially saying: everything Trump says is true, but the difference with *us* is that we want to be the ones who control the apparatus of government repression:
In these remarks to generals, Trump also referenced his attempt to create a new army of vigilante Brownshirts. bsky.app/profile/equa...
October 2, 2025 at 2:34 PM
In these remarks to generals, Trump also referenced his attempt to create a new army of vigilante Brownshirts. bsky.app/profile/equa...
This declaration of an intent to pursue what amounts to a civil war comes on the heels of alarming developments too numerous to name, including, just to name a tiny selection:
October 2, 2025 at 2:34 PM
This declaration of an intent to pursue what amounts to a civil war comes on the heels of alarming developments too numerous to name, including, just to name a tiny selection:
And even the person who responded so flippantly and ignorantly ignored my immediate invitation to have a deeper discussion:
October 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
And even the person who responded so flippantly and ignorantly ignored my immediate invitation to have a deeper discussion:
The below tweet--calling my lengthy analysis backed by an entire recent book full of evidence, examples, and argument a "hot take"--still constitutes the only response by anyone at PBS.
October 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The below tweet--calling my lengthy analysis backed by an entire recent book full of evidence, examples, and argument a "hot take"--still constitutes the only response by anyone at PBS.
THREAD. It was an enormous honor to be in Montreal among wonderful human beings last week for the launch of my new book in French. The book is a translation of my 2024 essay The Body Camera: The Language of Our Dreams. It's become enormously important for a few reasons.
October 1, 2025 at 4:42 PM
THREAD. It was an enormous honor to be in Montreal among wonderful human beings last week for the launch of my new book in French. The book is a translation of my 2024 essay The Body Camera: The Language of Our Dreams. It's become enormously important for a few reasons.
The below tweet constitutes the entirety of the response by PBS News to my raising serious factual and ethical issues with their sycophantic reporting. Take a look at each point in my thread that he ignores. Hopefully will be a good moment for public debate.
September 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The below tweet constitutes the entirety of the response by PBS News to my raising serious factual and ethical issues with their sycophantic reporting. Take a look at each point in my thread that he ignores. Hopefully will be a good moment for public debate.