The Story of the #AIRS Campaign
The #AIRS Campaign (#Abolish Incarcerated Reality Shows) was launched by America On Trial Inc. to confront the harmful portrayal of incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people and their families in reality television and related entertainment media. The campaign officially began on July 6, 2023, with a first think tank that brought together organizers and directly impacted leaders to set the direction for the movement.
Across popular programs such as Love During Lockup, Love After Lockup, and others, incarceration is turned into entertainment—profiting from real trauma while distorting public understanding of the criminal legal system. These shows often reinforce stereotypes, normalize surveillance and punishment, and reduce complex human lives to spectacle.
The #AIRS Campaign names this system the Carceral Entertainment Complex—a media ecosystem that commodifies incarceration and reproduces racist, classist, and punitive narratives for profit.
This campaign is not only about opposing specific television programs. It is about transforming the cultural narratives that shape how society understands punishment, safety, and human worth. By shifting how incarceration is portrayed in mainstream media, we aim to advance a broader vision rooted in rehabilitation, equity, and human rights.
Our goals:
End Exploitative Media Practices- Demand the removal of reality programming that profits from the trauma, vulnerability, and incarceration of individuals and their families.
Transform Public Narratives- Replace sensationalized portrayals of incarceration with truthful, dignity-centered storytelling that advances justice, accountability, and systemic reform.
Build Collective Accountability- Educate, organize, and mobilize communities to challenge networks and media corporations that sustain the Carceral Entertainment Complex.
Center Impacted Voices- Amplify and platform the voices of formerly incarcerated people and their families, ensuring they lead the conversation about how their lives and stories are represented.
What We’ve Built So Far:
Building a National Coalition- The #AIRS Campaign has united more than 25 partner organizations across 32 states to challenge the Carceral Entertainment Complex and demand media accountability.
Taking Direct Action- We have organized public demonstrations — including a rally at A&E headquarters — delivering petitions and amplifying the voices of impacted communities.
Equipping Communities to Act- We provide fact sheets, advocacy toolkits, and direct-action resources that empower supporters to confront networks profiting from incarceration.
Shifting the Conversation- Through media engagement, op-eds, interviews, and public events, we have elevated national awareness about the harms of shows like 60 Days In and the broader “Carceral Entertainment Complex”.
#AIRS Campaign Demands for Ethical Media Representation:
The #AIRS Campaign calls on A&E and all media corporations profiting from incarceration-based entertainment to end exploitative practices and commit to abolition-centered representation.
Dismantling the Carceral Entertainment Complex requires structural change, not cosmetic reform. We demand:
1. End Exploitative Programming-Immediately cancel incarceration-based reality shows such as Love During Lockup, Love After Lockup, and similar programs — and remove them from all platforms. These shows normalize incarceration and profit from human suffering.
2. Stop Future Carceral Entertainment-Commit to ending the production of content that profits from incarceration, punishment, or surveillance. Instead, support media that advances justice, rehabilitation, and abolition.
3. Use People-First Language-Eliminate dehumanizing terms like “inmate” and “ex-inmate.” Use respectful alternatives such as “incarcerated person” or “formerly incarcerated person.”
4. Acknowledge Harm Publicly- Recognize the damage these programs inflict on individuals, families, and public understanding of the justice system — and commit to storytelling that upholds abolition, dignity, and human rights.
5. Center Impacted Communities- Work directly with formerly incarcerated individuals, families, and justice advocates to create ethical, abolition-centered media.