Marketing Hype

ProPublica thinks that the New York City Police Department has used hype to exaggerate its record with regard to terrorist plots.  The department claims it has thwarted or helped thwart 14 terrorist plots against New York since Sept 11.  ProPublica has looked at these 14 plots and concluded that (a) there were far fewer than 14 serious, developed plots and (b) the department has overstated its role in stopping attacks.

Of the 14 plots, ProPublica concludes that maybe three were real cases where the NY police did something.  The police were really stretching it with the other 11; there were cases in which government informants played a significant or dominant role, cases whose credibility or seriousness has been questioned by law enforcement officials and cases in which an idea for a plot was abandoned or not pursued beyond discussion.