Knee-jerk Flock panic threatens a tool that’s making our cities safer

Nypost · Aug 21, 2026 · 676 words · By Rich Lowry

Police accountability Public Safety vs. Civil Liberties Ubiquity of Surveillance

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What to know about Police accountability

Knee-jerk Flock panic threatens a tool that’s making our cities safer See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 4

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left14%

Center72%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Knee-jerk Flock panic threatens a tool that’s making our cities safer See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google We have met the enemy — and it is watching us.

Common ground

There’s a growing backlash against Flock cameras, the automated license plate readers that have become ubiquitous across the country.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Straw Man, Whataboutism: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Police accountability story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that According to The Washington Post, “Authorities have charged or accused at least 50 law-enforcement officers of using license-plate readers for unauthorized purposes, including to stalk their exes.”?
How does this story connect Police accountability with Public Safety vs. Civil Liberties over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/21/opinion/knee-jerk-flock-panic-threatens-a-tool-tha…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 4 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Straw Man 70% confidence

Misrepresenting an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack.

Why it matters: Recognizing straw man helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Whataboutism 85% confidence

Deflecting criticism by pointing to a different issue.

Why it matters: Recognizing whataboutism helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “According to The Washington Post, “Authorities have charged or accused at least 50 law-enforcement officers of using license-plate readers for unauthorized purposes, including to stalk their exes.””

CORROBORATED

The claim is directly attributed to a Washington Post investigation and is corroborated by reports mentioning State Sen. Lisa Boscola's memo regarding the 50 officers.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 50% may refer to: One half, an irreducible fraction "50%", a 2006 song by Grandaddy from Just Like the Fambly Cat "50% (Official Hige Dandism)", a 2024 song by Official Hige Dandism from Cells at Wor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50%

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 50-50 club may refer to: 50–50 club in Major League Baseball, players who have achieved 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season Shohei Ohtani, the only Major League Baseball (MLB) player to h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50–50_club

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 50 or fifty may refer to: 50 (number), the natural number following 49 and preceding 51 one of the following years 50 BC, AD 50, 1950, 2050 .50 BMG, a heavy machine gun cartridge also used in sniper…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “According to the Jacksonville, Fla., sheriff’s office, the cameras since 2024 have “helped solve 15 murders, 17 kidnappings, 6 forcible sex offenses, nearly 100 shootings, and 172 missing-persons cases.””

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources explicitly quote the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) providing these exact statistics for crimes solved since 2024.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On June 6, 2025, protests began in Los Angeles after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided locations in the region to arrest individuals allegedly involved in illegal immigration to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2025_Los_Angeles_protests…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of law enforcement agencies in the state of Arkansas. According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, the state had 237 law en…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_enforcement_agenci…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The skunk ape is a large, hairy mythical humanoid creature said to inhabit forests and swamps in the southeastern United States, most notably in Florida. It is often compared to, synonymous with, or c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_ape

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “The cameras take images of license plates and store them in a searchable database that police departments can query in the course of their investigations.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and specialized audit sites (DeFlock, Have I Been Flocked?), confirm that Flock cameras capture license plate images and store them in a searchable database for police use.

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web search NEUTRAL — Flock Group Inc., doing business as Flock Safety, is a privately held American manufacturer and operator of surveillance hardware and software, particularly automated license plate recognition, mass v…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock_Safety

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web search NEUTRAL — They also capture your car's make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points. These cameras collect data on…
https://deflock.org/

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web search NEUTRAL — These images are sent to Flock's servers, where an AI platform scans license plates and analyzes images to index vehicle characteristics like make, model, and color. This data is then compiled into a …
https://haveibeenflocked.com/

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Claim 4: “the Symbionese Liberation Army operated for years out of various safe houses in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1970s”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny the operations of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s.

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Claim 5: “There are 120,000 Flock cameras across the United States scanning license plates 20 billion times a month.”

CORROBORATED

Both Wikipedia and other web sources confirm the figures of approximately 120,000 cameras and 20 billion scans per month.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A Flock of Seagulls is the debut studio album by the English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls, released in April 1982 by Jive Records. It hit No. 10 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 32 on the UK Album…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Flock_of_Seagulls_(album)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flock Group Inc., doing business as Flock Safety, is a privately held American manufacturer and operator of surveillance hardware and software, particularly automated license plate recognition (ALPR),…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock_Safety

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kevin Perez (born April 20, 2003), known professionally as Kay Flock, is an American rapper. Hailing from the Bronx, he began his career in 2020 and rose to fame through a variety of singles, most not…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Flock

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “The two most recent entries involve the arrest of an armed robbery suspect in Grass Valley, Calif. and the rescue of two kidnapped teenage girls in Bulloch County, Ga.”

CORROBORATED

The Patriot Post explicitly mentions these two specific cases (Grass Valley and Bulloch County), and a separate news report confirms the arrest in Bulloch County.

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web search NEUTRAL — Two recent entries related the arrest of an armed robbery suspect in Grass Valley, Calif., and the rescue of two kidnapped teenage girls in Bulloch County, Ga. After getting a tip, the authorities use…
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/130177-don-t-fear-flock-camer…

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web search NEUTRAL — 130,000+ Flock and ALPR cameras log your movements. See how many are near you, then get the free app that navigates around them.
https://dontgetflocked.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Tallmadge was arrested on a kidnapping warrant out of Yadkin County and is set for an extradition hearing to be sent back to North Carolina. He was taken to the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office pending…
https://www.wtoc.com/2026/08/19/2-kidnapped-girls-recovered-…

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Claim 7: “Los Angeles just let its contract with Flock lapse, citing “serious concerns around civil liberties and civil rights issues.””

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (TechCrunch, The Patriot Post, and other news reports) confirm that the LAPD allowed its contract with Flock to expire due to concerns over civil liberties and privacy.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Silver Lake is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California, United States, originally home to a small community called Ivanhoe, so named in honor of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake,_Los_Angeles

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 8: “And something like 60 million households have Ring or other security cameras that record what’s happening on their property, and often in the immediate surroundings.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While search results discuss Ring cameras and security cameras generally, none of the provided evidence sources confirm the specific statistic of '60 million households'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Buckminsterfullerene is a type of fullerene with the formula C60. It has a cage-like fused-ring structure (truncated icosahedron) made of twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons, and resembles an associa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminsterfullerene

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saturn has the most extensive and complex ring system of any planet in the Solar System. The rings consist of particles in orbit around the planet, ranging from micrometers to meters in size, and are …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay he wrote with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. It is based on 1955's The Return of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Ret…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “The authorities used Flock, after getting a tip, to track down the suspect in the Brown University shooting last year.”

CORROBORATED

Although the 'Evidence for claim 8' section was empty, the evidence provided for claim 7 explicitly states: 'After getting a tip, the authorities used Flock to find the suspect in the Brown University shooting'.

info

Claim 10: “A website set up by Charles Lehman of the Manhattan Institute is tracking news items about Flock contributing to successful police work.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists of irrelevant stock market data for Alphabet Inc. However, the claim appears in the context of 'The Patriot Post' article (seen in claim 7 evidence), but is not independently corroborated by other sources in the provided set.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Find the latest Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) stock quote, history, news and other vital information to help you with your stock trading and investing.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GOOG/?fr=sycsrp_catchall

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · See the latest Google stock price (NASDAQ:GOOG), related news, valuation, dividends and more to help you make your investing decisions.
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnas/goog/quote

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Track Alphabet Inc (Google) Class C stock price today with the live chart. Find GOOG news, trading ideas, forecasts, financials, and more.
https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NASDAQ-GOOG/

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.