NYPD Hashtag Failure

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It's been at least a few months since we had a Twitter hashtag failure. This time, the New York Police Department started a campaign: #MyNYPD.

NYPD campaign

Unfortunately, the results weren't what the police force expected. Jokes about the police supporting the "1%," criticisms about race discrimination, and photos of officers frisking dogs and wrestling people to the ground dominated the hashtag for hours.

NYPD 2

Gawker describes the campaign in an article titled, "NYPD's Twitter Outreach Backfires in Most Predictable Way Possible."

Discussion Starters:

  • Why does Gawker call the results predictable? What other hashtag failures have we seen that compare to this situation?
  • Should the NYPD have known better? Why or why not?
  • Should organizations just stop these hashtag campaigns, or can you identify certain situations where they may get the desired results?