Dems and Republicans unite behind a common enemy: Flock cameras that are ‘documenting everybody all the time’

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · Aug 12, 2026 · 1313 words · By Rikki Schlott

Government Surveillance Bipartisan Consensus Civil Liberties vs. Public Safety

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What to know about Government Surveillance

Dems and Republicans unite behind a common enemy: Flock cameras that are ‘documenting everybody all the time’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

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

What happened

Dems and Republicans unite behind a common enemy: Flock cameras that are ‘documenting everybody all the time’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google In our intensely divided moment, there’s one thing that the right and left seem to agree on: they hate Flock cameras.

Common ground

The cameras are installed in most urban areas across the country and record the license plate number of every car that drives past them, storing information about people’s movement in a database, for use by local governments and police departments.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: 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 Government Surveillance story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that a San Diego man spent nearly a month in jail for attempted carjacking because he was driving a red Alfa Romeo matching a suspect’s car, even though the Flock camera used to nab him placed his car five miles away from the incident in question 23 seconds after the crime?
How does this story connect Government Surveillance with Bipartisan Consensus over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/us-news/growing-anti-flock-movement-unifying-democ…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 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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Appeal to Fear 80% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

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

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% 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 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

check_circle Corroborated 5

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

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Claim 1: “a San Diego man spent nearly a month in jail for attempted carjacking because he was driving a red Alfa Romeo matching a suspect’s car, even though the Flock camera used to nab him placed his car five miles away from the incident in question 23 seconds after the crime.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “last month Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie proposed a bill that would deprive jurisdictions using Flock cameras of funding.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “Another incident in Sherwood, Arkansas, saw police officers detain a couple with a 1-month-old child in the backseat at gunpoint after a Flock camera incorrectly flagged their vehicle as stolen.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 4: “According to the Guardian, Flock cameras have been vandalized, damaged or destroyed at least 33 times across 23 states.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general company descriptions and a team collaboration app called 'Flock', but contains no mention of the Guardian reporting 33 instances of vandalism across 23 states.

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web search NEUTRAL — Flock, the best team communication app and online collaboration platform, comes with team messaging, project management and other great features that improve productivity and boost speed of execution.
https://www.flock.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Founded in 2017, Flock operates such systems under contract with law enforcement agencies, neighborhood associations, and private property owners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock_Safety

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web search NEUTRAL — Flock brings together the tools that organizations rely on every day, helping law enforcement, schools, businesses, and neighborhoods respond faster, investigate more effectively, and work together fr…
https://www.flocksafety.com/

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Claim 5: “An internal analysis by police in Roseville, California, found that 71% of alerts for stolen or felony-linked vehicles sent by Flock cameras to the department contained misread license plate numbers.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 6: “They also claim more than 10,000 missing people were located using Flock that year.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim about 10,000 missing people is mentioned in the OKC City Council report, but other search results for 'More' were irrelevant (magazines, films) and did not provide independent corroboration of this specific statistic.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Flock_of_Seagulls

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flock is a discontinued web browser that specialized in providing social networking and Web 2.0 facilities built into its user interface. Earlier versions of Flock used the Gecko HTML rendering engine…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock_(web_browser)

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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

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “The cameras are installed in most urban areas across the country and record the license plate number of every car that drives past them, storing information about people’s movement in a database, for use by local governments and police departments.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (Wikipedia, DeFlock, Logicity) confirm that Flock Safety operates ALPR systems for police, businesses, and HOAs, capturing license plate data and storing it in a cloud system for agency use.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — What is Flock? Flock Safety is one of the largest ALPR vendors in the United States. Their cameras are installed for police departments, businesses, and HOAs. Captured vehicle data is uploaded to Floc…
https://deflock.org/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Flock Safety's AI-powered license plate readers now cover 90,000+ locations across the US. Here's what they capture, who uses them, and how to check your city.
https://logicity.in/en/blog/90-000-flock-cameras-track-us-dr…

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Claim 8: “A spokesperson for Flock told The Post their technology “supported more than 1 million criminal investigations and public-safety incidents” in 2025 and was used in 20% of solved cases in jurisdictions which use the cameras.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources (FOX 5 Atlanta and OKC City Council report) confirm the company's 2025 Impact Census claim of supporting over 1 million investigations and assisting in 20% of solved cases.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flock, flocks or flocking may refer to: Flock (birds), a gathering of individual birds to forage or travel collectively
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flocking is the behavior exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. Sheep and goats also exhibit flocking behavior. Flocking by birds and mammals is similar to schooli…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flocking

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 9: “In Ohio, a man is suing his city after police pulled him over because they believed him to be driving a car with stolen plates based on Flock camera data.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “In California, Senate Bill 1013 would require officer training, annual audits, and logs of all database searches conducted by police.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding California Senate Bill 1013.

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Claim 11: “Former Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough of Richmond County, Virginia, allegedly used the license plate tracking system to stalk a woman he was having an affair with 1,639 times over several months.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (LewRockwell, Occupy.com, and a report on RCSO deputies) confirm that Former Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough of Richmond County was charged/fired for using the system to stalk a woman 1,639 times. Note: One source specifies Richmond County, Georgia, while the claim says Virginia; however, the specific name and number of times (1,639) are corroborated.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In one especially shocking incident, Former Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough of Richmond County, Virginia, allegedly used the license plate tracking system to stalk a woman he was having an affair with 1,63…
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2026/08/michael-snyder/americans…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Two more Richmond County deputies have been arrested and fired after investigators say they misused the sheriff’s office Flock license plate reader system for personal reasons, adding to a growing lis…
https://theaugustapress.com/two-more-rcso-deputies-arrested-…

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web search NEUTRAL — In late June, the Richmond County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office announced that Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough was fired and charged with felony violation of oath by a public officer.
https://www.occupy.com/article/movement-against-big-tech-s-f…

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Claim 12: “The Institute for Justice reports that, in just the past five years, there have been 39 cases of romantic stalking by police via Flock camera.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources confirm that the Institute for Justice reports 39 cases of romantic stalking by police using Flock cameras over the last five years.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — X, formerly known as Twitter, is an American microblogging and social networking service owned by SpaceX's artificial intelligence subsidiary SpaceXAI. It is one of the world's largest social media pl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(social_network)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “According to the company, Flock has 120,000 active cameras across the United States.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources (Axios via Bernie Sanders report, Fortune, and another news source) explicitly state that Flock has more than 120,000 cameras across the United States.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flock, flocks or flocking may refer to: Flock (birds), a gathering of individual birds to forage or travel collectively
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 14: “There are no uniform national rules restricting how the information collected by Flock cameras can be accessed or used, and police departments across the country have wildly different retention periods for the data.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While sources discuss the existence of the cameras and privacy concerns, none of the provided evidence explicitly confirms the lack of uniform national rules or the specific variation in retention periods across departments.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Attempting to access FlockOS or Flock camera feeds without authorization would likely violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Do not attempt to access any surveillance system you are not auth…
https://trafficvision.live/blog/flock-cameras

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web search NEUTRAL — Plan routes that avoid Flock and ALPR cameras. Explore 90,000+ surveillance cameras and build privacy-first routes across the United States.
https://dontgetflocked.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — The automated data-scanning and -collecting cameras are popping up all over the country.On the other hand, Flock cameras have helped with crime prevention and prosecution. For example, Flock cameras h…
https://patriotpost.us/articles/129148-what-are-flock-camera…

help

Claim 15: “44-year-old Jevon Martinez of New Mexico... was arrested in July for allegedly destroying three cameras and leaving behind a note saying “You’re welcome, the Republic of New Mexico.””

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding Jevon Martinez.

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.