NYPD Says Twitter Campaign That Backfired Provides 'Open Forum'

MANHATTAN — Hours after police saw their #myNYPD hashtag hijacked by people tweeting dramatic photos of officers arresting people, the department issued a statement saying Twitter “provides an open forum for an uncensored exchange.” 

The NYPD’s Twitter feed first sent out this message Tuesday afternoon, asking people to take pictures of themselves with officers.

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Do you have a photo w/ a member of the NYPD? Tweet us & tag it #myNYPD. It may be featured on our Facebook. pic.twitter.com/mE2c3oSmm6

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews)

But things perhaps did not go as planned, with the hashtag instead being used to post images like this:

New York police fall flat with #MyNYPD as Twitter users swamp campaign with brutality photos http://t.co/wfHrzz9p54 pic.twitter.com/kZn7JhDwoo

— The Stream (@AJStream)

The NYPD’s official press department put out this statement about 6:30 p.m.:

“The NYPD is creating new ways to communicate effectively with the community.  Twitter provides an open forum for an uncensored exchange and this is an open dialogue good for our city.”