Police Used Her Picture For A Wanted Poster, But They Got The Wrong Person

finger touching a cell phone
Zain Murdock
March 26, 2022

Instagram influencer Eva Lopez is familiar with having a public presence on the internet. But what she wasn’t familiar with? Having her picture plastered on a wanted poster without her consent – for something she didn’t do!

New York police were searching for an escort who had stolen a watch and a credit card. She didn’t even match Lopez’s description, but that didn’t stop them from claiming Lopez was wanted for grand larceny on social media!

By the time she got them to take the original posts down, potentially MILLIONS had already seen and shared it. This isn’t even the first time police have done this.

From “Felony Fridays” to “Wanted Wednesdays,” departments circulate wanted posters on social media, which linger online long after mistakes are cleared up or time is served. They often make these posts over small infractions, like violating parole. And they’ve mixed people up before!

But there are huge consequences.

Their digital public shaming also translates to difficulties securing employment and housing. Not to mention exposure to internet vigilantes, who may see a poster and hunt that person down. And like Lopez, that could be ANY of us!

Police use wanted posters to shame and punish people before they even get a trial, even when they have the WRONG person. Clearly, they’re more focused on criminalizing Black people than actually keeping us safe!

We have a quick favor to ask:

PushBlack is a nonprofit dedicated to raising up Black voices. We are a small team but we have an outsized impact:

  • We reach tens of millions of people with our BLACK NEWS & HISTORY STORIES every year.
  • We fight for CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM to protect our community.
  • We run VOTING CAMPAIGNS that reach over 10 million African-Americans across the country.

And as a nonprofit, we rely on small donations from subscribers like you.

With as little as $5 a month, you can help PushBlack raise up Black voices. It only takes a minute, so will you please ?

Share This Article: