The Deprogram

This is a great question and asked in a considerate, respectful way, so thank you! I think I can speak for most lefties when I say that it's never an intrusion to ask a question you genuinely want to understand the answer to and only impolite when it also comes with baggage like derision or judgmental preconceptions. But yours didn't carry that baggage at all, and it's appreciated. I am no expert in this, but here is what I would say to answer:

One thing you will quickly learn about communism if you don't know already, is that, particularly in the anticommunist US, any organizing around it quickly faces infiltration, co-option, and plain dismantlement to a ludicrous extent, mostly by the alphabet soup agencies, but also even by private reactionaries. The red scare shit never went away, and so western communist organizing now exists in an extremely hostile environment where it is easy for anticommunists to spread misinformation about what communism is, and that misinformation is largely accepted at face value, as if it's common knowledge. The degree of infiltration and smearing of communist organizing, and the lengths the feds go to to accomplish it is one of those things where it would sound absurd were it not for the open admissions of anti-communist state actors like the CIA outright listing the tactics they have used to undermine and derail communist organizing.

I mention all that just because I think it's necessary context that has to be taken into account here. Because the ACP, despite what it claims to be, is an anti-communist group whose purpose is to undermine class struggle not fight for it. It is funded and run by feds, with it's membership either being feds, aware of and accepting of the feds, or simply naive and duped. To outsiders who have no knowledge of the history of working class organizing in the US, this may just seem like an excuse, like it's just "leftist infighting," where some groups just want to claim that the other ones aren't "true" communists. To be fair, leftist infighting and splintering is a real thing unfortunately. But that is not what is going on here in what I'm telling you about the ACP which really, truly is a wholly reactionary organization that exists for the sake of undermining communism and actual leftist organizing, and it does so through co-option and smearing (among other tactics).

By co-opting, I mostly mean that it tries to scoop up people who are curious about communism and whose politics may be showing signs of leftward radicalizing and then steer them down an anticommunist, reactionary path instead. But by co-opting, I also mean showing up at events (protests, sit-ins, etc) and trying to shout loudest as being "THEE" voices of communism even though all other real communists see the ACP as the charlatans they are. That leads to what I mean by smearing: they try to make it look like the things they espouse are simply what communism is about, but they are lying, as they go on to say and push for the most reactionary bullshit imaginable - like being very pro-Trump and pro-MAGA. This makes outsiders believe that is what communists believe, it gives liberals the excuse to say "look at those right wing commies, horseshoe theory is real!" Well "right wing communist" is an oxymoron, but that is exactly the contradiction the ACP tries to straddle. They use Marxist terminology and claim to advocate for the working class, attempt to drape themselves in radical left symbolism (like Hammer and Sickles, red flags) while adhering to chauvinism, nationalism, and imperialist ideology and dogma. This is why the ACP, the Nazbols, and the Larouchites - who are all roughly the same nebulous ball of shit and lies - aren't real communists and why I say that their surreptitious but actual reason for existing (though they would deny it) is to undermine communism, not advance it.

In this case, the significance of the ACP taking over the r/TankieTheDeprogram subreddit is that that sub is somehow one of the last real Marxist-Leninist subs on reddit. I am not a regular there, though I peek in sometimes, and I don't know how they were able to stick around when most others were banned. But I was glad there was still some foothold, if small one, still on reddit. ACP taking it over is effectively killing that last foothold, which is very much an ACP thing to do.

So, believe it or not, that wall of text is the very brief, quick overview just to explain the role of the ACP. It would take more paragraphs to get into the actual history of the ACP (and I am by no means an expert) not to mention the other groups I mentioned, Nazbols, Larouchites, all of whom have history that's inextricably related, but it would take another several paragraphs to get into exactly what they are. At the very least you have some terms to search for to start with if you're curious about all that. But as always, be very mindful of whose perspective you're reading and what agenda they might possibly have.

Long story short for the ACP. MAGA with ML word salad.

hi thank u for asking it's nice to see someone curious.

i am not american organizer but so far as i can see for ML/socialist parties in the usa (barring 'demsocs' and DSA, we're focusing on parties hoping to legitimately organize and galvanize revolutionary potential in the country), there are only a few relevant ones nowadays, like CPUSA (communist party of usa [i did know they are also dem entryists, and prolewiki's article is largely negative however ik a few people on here still organize w them and again i cant actually really claim any intimate knowledge]) and PSL (party for socialism and liberation if im not mistaken). ACP has had the most questionable and problematic recent history of these parties and is often called dubiously socialist.

afaik, while ACP does bare minimum of nominal identification as a communist party, and maybe postures towards class consciousness or expresses reasonable anti-capitalist takes, a lot of their conclusions and analyses are frighteningly socially regressive or reactionary.

leadership is often found parroting very anti-lgbtqia takes (the now ex-mod who defended ACP, in question, who insofar as we can tell has no known leadership position in ACP, was seen agreeing with a post on another nominally socialist/'left' subreddit agreeing with the view that transgender people were 'degenerates') and from what i've seen their engagement on actually topical matters of class warfare or struggle is like, close to none.

there are their 'patsoc' takes apart from that. this i know less about, but considering usa is settler colony and decolonization is seen as a primary contradiction + there's not much to be proud about in all of usa history, it's very chauvinistic.

so, at best this party takes revolutionary potential and redirects it to useless/harmful places like... transgender people. who obviously have more revolutionary potential than the average cis person, because they are already being subjugated by social policies

(also, iirc one leading member haz literally said on twt homeless people are comparable to feudal era landlords, i'm remembering, so maybe it really does indicate complete lack of socialist/ML knowledge or at least evidently capable analysis in their ranks. you have to be coked up to make such conclusions. so, LGBTQIA+ people, homeless people, and women. clearly the source of all ill in this world!)

and at best this type of social chauvinism while posturing at 'anti-capitalism' was famous in one german party led by a little toothbrush mustache man... they weren't National Socialists for nothing. so. it ranges from, giving them infinite grace, socialists who are incredibly reactionary and haven't had any substantive wins for the cause aside from a symbolic invitation to an event in the PRC, to larouchites, to people that could very well be an actual nazi party if this trajectory continues and their most reactionary tendencies are extended to their conclusion.

removing all else, there's simply alternatives in the USA that have less history of leadership taking such regressive and anti-revolutionary positions, so there's not much reason to attach yourself so deeply, unless that maybe you have takes on lgbtqia that aren't accepted by those other orgs. these groups are also wider. ACP was founded in 2024 (another reason ppl think it's an op, aside from terrible optics and agitprop and divisions they foment within usa left), almost all other communist parties in USA at least have a larger base and a longer history.

i guess if there's no other option, maybe it's okay to join them, but even then, a smarter person could probably find arguments that the foundations are somewhat (to entirely) rotted. remember that I AM NOT AMERICAN!!! i have never ever organized there much less with ACP, so if smaller chapters are different or even more distilled National Socialists please comment.

https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/American_Communist_Party_(current)

If you have the time, this piece is a pretty deep dive into who/what they are

https://cosmonautmag.com/2025/04/praxis-of-alienation-and-enmity-on-the-american-communist-party/