Clout Chasing On Flock Safety

Our Take

Mak-Tube's quick-hit short, flagging what it calls "clout chasing" around Flock Safety coverage, pokes at something we think about a lot: the gap between content made for engagement and reporting that actually holds ALPR networks accountable. We don't know every detail of the beef referenced here involving Chris Faraone, Tash, and the Boston media scene, so we're not going to pretend otherwise — but the broader point lands. Surveillance infrastructure like Flock's camera network expands fastest in the shadow of noise, not scrutiny.

That's exactly why it matters who's covering this beat and why. A thirty-second hot take can rack up views, but it rarely maps a single intersection, FOIAs a single police contract, or tells a resident their plate is being logged every time they drive to church. The actual work — the unglamorous kind — is what shrinks the surveillance dragnet. Clout is not accountability.

We'd rather our readers spend five minutes on our camera map finding the Flock units near them than five minutes on a dunk video, however satisfying. If this short gets more eyes on how these systems operate in Boston and beyond, good. But watch it for the lead, not the drama, and then go see what you can actually do about the cameras in your own town via our take-action page.