The NYPD Promoted Itself On Twitter, And Twitter Filled Up With These Images Of Police Brutality

The New York Police Department sought to generate some goodwill on Twitter yesterday by inviting users to tweet their photos with New York City police members alongside the hashtag #myNYPD.

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) April 22, 2014

But instead of posting images of friendly uniformed men and women protecting the community, critics of the department's handling of anti-bank protestors and historic hostility toward minorities came out in droves to share photos of NYC arresting people, mostly in violent fashion.

Sure thing! MT @NYPDnews: Do you have a photo w/ a member of the NYPD? Tweet us & tag it #myNYPD pic.twitter.com/mdWqoHiij5

- DefendedInTheStreets (@KimaniFilm) April 22, 2014

The #NYPD will also help you de-tangle your hair. #myNYPD pic.twitter.com/nrngQ1bOWv

- Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) April 22, 2014

It got picked up by the regular media:

Some users even shared photos in which they themselves had been arrested.

#myNYPD cut off my circulation while arresting me!! Thanks for showing this little white girl how corrupt you rly are pic.twitter.com/iUCHZUKZdi

- air (@poetrybyair) April 23, 2014

Why yes I do. @NYPDnews: Do you have a photo w/ a member of the NYPD? Tweet us & tag it #myNYPD pic.twitter.com/aDKoZPjTro

- Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) April 22, 2014

The #myNYPD hashtag quickly became a trending topic,with more than 70,000 people making mostly negative comments about NYPD before the day way over, according to the New York Daily News.

And the embarrassing derailment of the NYPD's positive talking point became front-page news:

You can see more results from the #myNYPD hashtag here.

While the NYPD very well could have created the #myNYPD hashtag with good intentions, the campaign's ultimate failure should have been obvious to anyone who had taken the time to think about just who the department was addressing on Twitter, a medium that has generated a reputation for providing dissenters a platform to voice their opinions.

When opening the floor to the public, controversial organizations like the NYPD and JPMorgan, which experienced its own Twitter nightmare a few months ago, need to be prepared for their critics to be louder than their fans.