Last week the New York police department’s effort to promote their good acts turned into just the opposite, when citizens flipped the script on the hashtag #myNYPD .

By launching the hashtag the NYPD unintentionally created a forum for their own public shaming and for citizens to share information on how to resist police abuse and amplify campaigns seeking justice for past victims.

Social media does not create sentiment.  It amplifies sentiment that already exists.  Sometimes figures of authority are surprised by what that sentiment is.

Read more:

• http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/04/mynypd-twitter-campaign-spawns-hashtags-across-the-country/
  
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/23/why-mynypd-failed/
• more Twitter screencaps: http://odinsblog.tumblr.com/post/83572461598/mynypd