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Caroline Haskins
@carolinehaskins.bsky.social
reporter @WIRED.com caroline_haskins@wired.com 785-813-1084 https://www.wired.com/author/caroline-haskins/
NEW: Hackers cut down a Flock camera, dumped its internal storage, and shared the files w/ WIRED and 404 Media. It includes thousands of videos and logs showing how the device took images of 50,000 vehicles in 21 days The code reveals in new detail how Flock tracks the vehicles and people.
Hackers Got Inside a Flock Camera. Its Data Shows How the System Really Works
A hacker collective pulled down a Flock camera and dumped its data. The files included thousands of videos and logs showing that the device captured 1.6 million images of 50,000 vehicles in 21 days.
wired.com
There is a corner of the internet I had never heard of before I started reporting this story. It’s called the “burnerverse”: a network of anon burner accounts ostensibly discussing college sports. But they have another goal: destroying young girls’ lives.🧵: www.wired.com/story/burner...
A College Girl Was Exploited on Camera. A Network of Anonymous Men Got to Work
Maddie Kowalski is one of countless young women who’ve had their lives destroyed by the burnerverse, a loosely connected online community of sports fans. Now she’s fighting back.
wired.com
I can’t recommend the new one from @dell.bsky.social and @dmehro.bsky.social highly enough to anyone at all interested in Flock cameras. The short version is that the AI systems cops use have terrifying capabilities to search for people and the guardrails less prevent than record a lot of bad uses.
This Is Flock’s AI Search Tool for Cops
WIRED rebuilt Flock’s latest search tool from code the company sends to a police officer’s browser. Its AI can keep watch across multiple cameras for anyone fitting a written description.
wired.com
Told my mum I wanted to be a scientist at 10; ended up a science journalist. That counts…right? But hi, I’ll be @nytimes.com’ new China Science Correspondent. If you are a Chinese scientist in China, outside China, on the fence, floating around…I’d love to hear what you are working on!
A New Reporter to Cover China’s Scientific Advancements | The New York Times Company
nytco.com
NEW (& no paywall): One of Flock's biggest selling points is its private search network—but how does it actually work? And how does an ordinary city end up sharing its data with, say, 2,000+ other agencies? I FOIA'ed Flock customers from around the country to find out: www.wired.com/story/how-an...
How an Atlanta Suburb Ended Up Sharing Flock Data With More Than 2,000 Organizations
Alpharetta, Georgia, cops share data with thousands of Flock users, ranging from federal agencies to a fish and wildlife commission. The reasons why show how vast—and invasive—the network has become.
wired.com
New: A recent Flock misuse investigation led to the resignation of a Georgia police officer. I got the investigation files via public record request. They reveal that he used Flock to monitor 2 fellow cops—one was his former fling, the other was her friend: www.wired.com/story/a-geor...
A Georgia Cop Used Flock to Track 2 Other Cops: His Ex and Her Friend
After an affair with a fellow police officer ended, a Georgia cop used Flock to track her movements—and those of a man whose vehicle often showed up near hers, internal investigation records show.
wired.com
You've probably heard about the horrifying phenomenon of students making AI-generated nudes + sexual content of their underage peers. Unfortunately, there's a whole other set of victims of this harassment: Teachers. Several of them told me their stories: www.wired.com/story/teache...
They Dedicated Their Lives to Teaching. Then the Deepfakes Started
The deepfake epidemic in schools is affecting more than students. Four teachers tell WIRED about becoming targets of sexualized, AI-generated content—and how difficult it was to find accountability.
wired.com
The deepfake epidemic in schools is affecting more than students. Four teachers tell WIRED about becoming targets of sexualized, AI-generated content—and how difficult it was to find accountability.
They Dedicated Their Lives to Teaching. Then the Deepfakes Started
The deepfake epidemic in schools is affecting more than students. Four teachers tell WIRED about becoming targets of sexualized, AI-generated content—and how difficult it was to find accountability.
wired.com
You've probably heard about the horrifying phenomenon of students making AI-generated nudes + sexual content of their underage peers. Unfortunately, there's a whole other set of victims of this harassment: Teachers. Several of them told me their stories: www.wired.com/story/teache...
They Dedicated Their Lives to Teaching. Then the Deepfakes Started
The deepfake epidemic in schools is affecting more than students. Four teachers tell WIRED about becoming targets of sexualized, AI-generated content—and how difficult it was to find accountability.
wired.com
New: We found cops who misused Flock to spy on their wives. Their bosses at the police department had no idea. Three are being investigated and one was arrested after we asked about their searches. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2... @douglasmac.bsky.social @aaronschaffer.com
We found cops who misused Flock. Their police departments didn’t know.
Police departments have powerful tools to track how officers use Flock’s license-plate cameras. But across the country, agencies often don’t perform oversight, leaving potential abuse to be uncovered ...
washingtonpost.com
NEW: Flock has said for years its cameras don’t identify or track people. We obtained the code for its police AI and rebuilt parts of it. The tool can find witnesses, surface associates, search people by race or physical description, and flag vehicles by how they move. W/ @dell.bsky.social
Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code
Flock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plate...
wired.com
NEW: I spent months trying to understand why a cop who spoke out against Flock faced five internal affairs investigations and was pushed out of his job—only to find himself at the center of an unlikely political fight uniting parts of the American right and left. www.wired.com/story/the-co...
The Cop Who Took On Flock
After Noel Pichardo called out his city's embrace of Flock surveillance cameras, he was subjected to five internal affairs investigations in less than two years.
wired.com
SCOOP: On Flock's YouTube page, there are dozens of videos touting the work of police departments that use its license plate readers. Four of them have since faced allegations of misusing Flock's technology: www.wired.com/story/flock-...
Flock Highlighted Police Departments Using Its Tech. Now 4 Face Allegations of Misuse
Flock posted videos on its YouTube channel highlighting at least four police departments whose officers have faced allegations of misusing the company’s tech.
wired.com
SCOOP: On Flock's YouTube page, there are dozens of videos touting the work of police departments that use its license plate readers. Four of them have since faced allegations of misusing Flock's technology: www.wired.com/story/flock-...
Flock Highlighted Police Departments Using Its Tech. Now 4 Face Allegations of Misuse
Flock posted videos on its YouTube channel highlighting at least four police departments whose officers have faced allegations of misusing the company’s tech.
wired.com
Data centers have become one of the U.S.'s most potent political flashpoints, uniting coalitions on the left and right like few issues do. We sent @mollytaft.com on a journey into the data center resistance. The Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders made appearances along the way:
How Data Centers Broke American Politics
What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026.
wired.com
Steve Eimers, aka The Guardrail Guy, is known for his videos that about faulty guardrails & the risk they pose to drivers He recently began posting about Flock cameras & ALPRs. He’s not anymore. Why? Someone began destroying cameras he’d recently posted about: www.wired.com/story/flock-...
He Went Viral for Posting About Flock Cameras. Then Someone Destroyed Them
Steve Elmers, also known as the “Guardrail Guy,” is done calling out license plate readers after two that appeared in his videos were vandalized.
wired.com
NEW: In 2025 ICE obtained DNA from nearly one million people and funneled it into an FBI criminal database. The collection likely included DNA from young children and was backed by the threat of criminal prosecution. The raw genetic material is stored indefinitely. Free to read:
ICE Collected Nearly 1 Million People’s DNA Last Year—Including Young Children
Internal documents show ICE's DNA collection has skyrocketed in the second Trump administration. Now hundreds of thousands of people never convicted of a crime are in an FBI criminal database forever.
wired.com
SCOOP: 404 Media has obtained a coaching guide that Flock surveillance gives to police about “how to speak to city councils about public safety technology.” It encourages police to “own the narrative before someone else does” by championing the technology before citizens can oppose it.
‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech
"This document shows a coordinated effort from Flock Safety to compel law enforcement agencies to convince our elected leaders to represent their interests as a company rather than the interests of co...
404media.co
Steve Eimers, aka The Guardrail Guy, is known for his videos that about faulty guardrails & the risk they pose to drivers He recently began posting about Flock cameras & ALPRs. He’s not anymore. Why? Someone began destroying cameras he’d recently posted about: www.wired.com/story/flock-...
He Went Viral for Posting About Flock Cameras. Then Someone Destroyed Them
Steve Elmers, also known as the “Guardrail Guy,” is done calling out license plate readers after two that appeared in his videos were vandalized.
wired.com
Blogged about the new Meta ad in which the company doubles down on AI while the song Five Years, the David Bowie song about the world ending in 5 years, plays in the background: www.wired.com/story/meta-d...
Meta’s New Feel-Good AI Ad Uses a Song About the World Ending
The clip features the David Bowie track “Five Years,” which includes lyrics such as “Earth was really dying (dying).”
wired.com
ICYMI last week @wired.com: ICE is renewing its contract with Thomson Reuters for accessing some their suite of proprietary databases. In the description, ICE says the tools will be used to ID "unaccompanied minors" and identify fraud. w/ @carolinehaskins.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/ice-un...
ICE Is Using Data Broker Tools to ‘Identify Unaccompanied Minors’ and ‘Fraud’
A newly renewed, $25 million-per-year contract with a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters further expands the power of ICE under the Trump administration.
wired.com
NEW w/ @telliotter.bsky.social: ICE renewed its contract to buy data from Thomson Reuters at an upped rate of $25 million/year Now, ICE says, it has an urgent, “multiplied” need for data to ID “unaccompanied minors” and anyone involved with “fraud of government funds": www.wired.com/story/ice-un...
ICE Is Using Data Broker Tools to ‘Identify Unaccompanied Minors’ and ‘Fraud’
A newly renewed, $25 million-per-year contract with a subsidiary of Thompson Reuters further expands the power of ICE under the Trump administration.
wired.com
As someone who was in the competitive middle + high school track circuit back in the day, which felt crazy at the time, audibly said "what" to myself reading some of the times dropped in this piece. Worth a read: www.wired.com/story/teenag...
Elite Young Runners Are Becoming Freakishly Fast. Welcome to ‘Trackflation’
Four-minute miles are almost routine. Middle schoolers are beating college runners. Inside the youth track boom that’s turning kids and teens into speed machines.
wired.com
Oops!!! AWS's billing console had a glitch last night, causing tons of customers to get emails claiming that they owed the world’s 5th most valuable company billions upon billions of dollars : ) www.wired.com/story/amazon...
AWS Billing Glitch Hits Customers With Billion-Dollar Fees
An error with the cloud computing giant’s billing operation caused some customers’ monthly bills to rise from a few cents to billions of dollars.
wired.com
NEW w/ @telliotter.bsky.social: ICE renewed its contract to buy data from Thomson Reuters at an upped rate of $25 million/year Now, ICE says, it has an urgent, “multiplied” need for data to ID “unaccompanied minors” and anyone involved with “fraud of government funds": www.wired.com/story/ice-un...
ICE Is Using Data Broker Tools to ‘Identify Unaccompanied Minors’ and ‘Fraud’
A newly renewed, $25 million-per-year contract with a subsidiary of Thompson Reuters further expands the power of ICE under the Trump administration.
wired.com
Haunted by a customer support call I had to make the other day… why why why did I go with “m as in moo” when spelling out the security code 😭
the Apple store has go to be the most loud, unpleasant, crowded, overstimulating place on earth I stg
NEW from me: the US is about to deport a retired pastor, Edward Nalwamba, back to Uganda. Not only is Uganda in the midst of an Ebola outbreak, but Nalwamba says he was the target of the country's security forces before coming to the US. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/the-us...
The US Is About to Deport an Immigrant to the Center of the Ebola Crisis
Edward Nalwamba is a 78-year-old retired pastor whose health has rapidly declined while in detention, his attorney says.
wired.com
After the Club Chalamet incident this week, I wanted to know: what do Hollywood publicists think about celeb fans, and the Heated Rivalry fandom? What I learned was super complicated and fascinating 🧵: www.wired.com/story/hollyw...
Hollywood Thrives on ‘Rabid’ Fans. For Publicists, They’re a Nightmare
A scuffle between stan account Club Chalamet and another “Heated Rivalry” die-hard shines a light on how parasocial fans are a publicist’s greatest asset—and liability.
wired.com