COINTELPRO Pronunciation: /koʊˈɪn.tɛl.proʊ/ (koh-IN-tel-proh) Part of Speech: Noun (acronym: Counter Intelligence Program)
Definition: A clandestine FBI program (1956–1971) targeting civil rights, Black liberation, and activist organizations in the United States. COINTELPRO sought to surveil, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt groups such as the Black Panther Party and leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The program routinely broke laws, engaging in illegal surveillance, harassment, fabrication of evidence, incitement of internal conflict, and dissemination of false information to undermine these movements.
Example: COINTELPRO’s illegal operations played a major role in destabilizing civil rights organizations through covert surveillance and criminal acts.