The Third Jihad is a "documentary" purporting to show that U.S. Muslims are here to "infiltrate and dominate" America, funded by a mysterious right-wing pressure group. So it was a natural fit for the NYPD, which has launched an unprecedented and illegal campaign of surveillance against Muslim New Yorkers. According to the New York Times, the NYPD screened The Third Jihad on a "continuous loop" for its trainees, and more than 1,500 officers have seen it.

When news first broke last year that the NYPD was using a virulent and bigoted film to train its cadets—The Third Jihad claims outright that "much of the Muslim leadership here in America" supports Al Qaeda and that their "primary tactic is deception"—a spokesman claimed that it was only shown "a couple of times."

That was a lie. After NYU Law School's Brennan Center for Justice filed a Freedom of Information Law request for information about the film, the NYPD released documents showing that film was shown continuously over a period of between three months and one year during "during the sign-in, medical and administrative orientation process" for trainees. All told, according to the Times, 68 lieutenants, 159 sergeants, 31 detectives and 1,231 patrol officers have seen it.

Which presumably makes it easier to convince them to spy on people for no other reason than that they are Muslims.