“Copaganda”, “ACAB”, “F12”….you may have seen these phrases pop up on various Law Enforcement related social media posts or websites, but what do they mean?

“Copaganda”, a combination of the words 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.

Basically saying that when we post stories of cops just being good guys, we’re showboating. God forbid that we show the 99% of heroes doing small acts of kindness.

This phrase has been picked up by the mainstream media, with damning articles written by the likes of CNN and even Teen Vogue with statements such as “copaganda serves to undermine the movement for Black lives”.

To clarify, those using this phrase are upset that the media is showing cops being kind to protestors, provide new bikes for kids who have had them stolen, giving out ice cream on hot summer days, and basically doing anything (and I quote this directly from teen vogue) “That is supposed to be on the kind nature of individual police officers”. The Teen Vogue article goes further to say “it’s important to remember that each friendly officer also has a gun on their hip and holds qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that, as explained by The Appeal, can effectively shield officials like police from accountability for misconduct, such as when they use excessive force”.

The media wants us to be kinder and more gentle, so we do that. We start to share publicly what most of us have already been doing for so many years. The anti-cop

movement sees this, and immediately respond with THIS IS TOO NICE, PEOPLE MAY DECIDE TO SEE COPS OUTSIDE OF THE NEGATIVE AND THIS GIVES US THE SADS.

Seriously my guy….pick a struggle. Ya’ll have got to be exhausted with the constant flip flopping at this point.

The idea of “copaganda” easily boils down to it being a moneymaker. With negative portrayals of police still being the hottest topic around, tearing down an officer showing kindness will for sure generate sales, but we’re not buying it anymore.