NYPD memo on pronoun policy is not real, department says | Fact check
The claim: Image shows NYPD memo requiring officers to display pronouns
A Sept. 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes an image of what appears to be a memo with a New York Police Department seal addressed to “all commands.”
"All uniformed members of the service will be required to affix and display the new pronoun breastbar while in uniform," reads the memo, which is littered with typos. "Pronouns will reflect member's (sic) peferred (sic) gender as imputted (sic)."
The post's caption states, "Pandering Alert: Starting January 1, the NYPD is requiring all members of the department to display their 'pronouns.'"
Another version of the claim was shared more than 3,500 times before it was deleted.
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Our rating: Altered
The image is fabricated. The department said it did not issue any such memo.
Numerous typos in memo point to non-NYPD origin
The New York Police Department, the country's largest police force, said it did not distribute the message included in the image.
“The post contained false information,” a spokesperson who did not provide their name told Paste BN. “That is not a real communication.”
The memo includes multiple typos, further pointing to its lack of authenticity. It uses “efeective” instead of “effective,” for example, as well as “peffered” instead of “preferred,” and “authortity” instead of “authority.”
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Paste BN has debunked several claims regarding pronoun usage, including false assertions that Idaho schools planned to ban all pronouns and that a Michigan bill would make incorrect pronoun usage a felony.
Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
AFP and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
- New York Police Department spokesperson, Sept. 13, Email exchange with Paste BN
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