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On this topic, have people noticed the sudden coordinated media push for Flock Is Your Friend? The Free Press, The Atlantic, and Axios have all churned out pro-

On this topic, have people noticed the sudden coordinated media push for Flock Is Your Friend? The Free Press, The Atlantic, and Axios have all churned out pro-Flock articles in the last week. Clearly someone (I assume A16Z, but it could be multiple groups) is panicking about the mounting bipartisan backlash to Flock cameras and is starting to write checks to try and head it off.

cosmic_cheese 2mo ago
Pro-Flock bots come out in droves in the replies to any Xitter post that’s even mildly negative towards them too. It’s not the least bit subtle.
- walrus01 2mo ago
  basically: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wont-somebody-please-think-of-the-children https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wont-somebody-please-think-of...
iamnothere 2mo ago
My theory is that the establishment sees the oncoming economic crisis and is desperately trying to plan for managing the fallout. They don’t like Flock or its backers, but they feel they have no choice. Same as why Palantir is gradually being rehabilitated in the mainstream press. You’ll also notice that Anduril is quickly being accepted now that we’re expending munitions faster than our replacement rate.
- walrus01 2mo ago
  > trying to plan for managing the fallout Put in a less polite way, they're preparing for the metaphorical pitchforks and torches held by mobs of the common people which might manifest themselves in a more kinetic format.
  - iamnothere 2mo ago
    Yes. My hope is that the rare earths shortage, memory shortage, and current focus on munitions will delay the era of drone-based policing until after the crisis.
    - ColdStream 2mo ago
      I suspect the crisis isn't a short term economic shock but a long term decline from resource decline, possible water/food shortages amplified by climate blow back. Something that will not end in your lifetime or the next generations. Military's, intelligence agencies and actuaries have been warning about this for decades now and their language is getting very direct on this and the time lines nowadays. If you have ever been caught in a rip while swimming, there is a moment when you suddenly getting a sucking sensation as you transition from stable waters into an outward flow. I am starting to think we are in that transitional phase on global stability, that the 2030's are not going to be a comfortable time for many. They are ensuring that potential disruptors can be reigned in if needed. To try and stop things from being even more unpredictable, for better or worse. Buckle up. You don't build long term surveillance systems and billionaires don't build bunkers for what they think of as a temporary tough situation.
      - iamnothere 2mo ago
        Fair, perhaps I should have said until after the crisis passes its most acute phase. I expect the eventual energy and climate system shock to result in mass unrest and many excess deaths. Meanwhile wars are almost guaranteed, which will further stretch resources. If we make it out of the initial crisis without a strategic nuclear war, we may settle into a period of extended decline that’s relatively stable, though very unpleasant.
      - shnock 2mo ago
        Could you please link those warnings? I’m interested in institutional forecasts of such challenges in the upcoming decades.
        2mo ago
- barney54 2mo ago
  You are giving them way, way, way too much credit. They are not planning for a future economic crisis.
BLKNSLVR 2mo ago
Noticed the same with some media publishing anti-work-from-home articles recently. "We need the plebs to want to mock people who work from home, to reduce the reticence in coming back to work in the office" "We need our commercial property values to go back up" Edited to add: "Our managers need to _feel_ as if they're actually managing people"
- matchbok3 2mo ago
  It's 2026, the conspiracy theory that business people wanted RTO for office space value has been debunked 100 times. Such a silly, nonsense idea.
  - walrus01 2mo ago
    You think that the size of investment firms that own something like, a good sized chunk of midtown Manhattan class A and B commercial real estate aren't capable of deploying social and tradtional-media influence tools to push an agenda to repopulate their office space? That would be a very inaccurate assessment of how large and motivated they are.
    - matchbok3 2mo ago
      If you are willing to believe a nonsense conspiracy like that then there is no way we could have a productive conversation.
      - walrus01 2mo ago
        You actually don't think that the world's largest REITs hire lobbyists at the municipal, state and federal levels? That's an extremely naive and uninformed position.
  - samplatt 2mo ago
    That'd be a lot easier to believe if you provided a source, which you should do if you care enough to comment in the first place, I think? A cursory google suggests that the return-to-office movement is primarily driven by management's desire for voluntary turnover, avoiding the bad press of mass layoffs. But certainly doesn't show that it's 'been debunked 100 times'. In my own experience, it's been 50/50 a desire for voluntary turnover, and also a control tactic. Employees are easier to strong-arm when they're immersed in the idea that company culture actually matters.
ekianjo 2mo ago
Follow the money. That also shows which media sources you should never trust
pilingual 2mo ago
Drew Harwell, Douglas MacMillan, and Aaron Schaffer from the Washington Post also wrote a shameful article on this topic on August 4th (the title changed, along with an image of a woman who was harassed to something else). No counterpoint. Total submarine article.

cosmic_cheese 2mo ago

Pro-Flock bots come out in droves in the replies to any Xitter post that’s even mildly negative towards them too. It’s not the least bit subtle.

walrus01 2mo ago
basically: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wont-somebody-please-think-of-the-children https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wont-somebody-please-think-of...

iamnothere 2mo ago

My theory is that the establishment sees the oncoming economic crisis and is desperately trying to plan for managing the fallout. They don’t like Flock or its backers, but they feel they have no choice. Same as why Palantir is gradually being rehabilitated in the mainstream press. You’ll also notice that Anduril is quickly being accepted now that we’re expending munitions faster than our replacement rate.

walrus01 2mo ago
> trying to plan for managing the fallout Put in a less polite way, they're preparing for the metaphorical pitchforks and torches held by mobs of the common people which might manifest themselves in a more kinetic format.
- iamnothere 2mo ago
  Yes. My hope is that the rare earths shortage, memory shortage, and current focus on munitions will delay the era of drone-based policing until after the crisis.
  - ColdStream 2mo ago
    I suspect the crisis isn't a short term economic shock but a long term decline from resource decline, possible water/food shortages amplified by climate blow back. Something that will not end in your lifetime or the next generations. Military's, intelligence agencies and actuaries have been warning about this for decades now and their language is getting very direct on this and the time lines nowadays. If you have ever been caught in a rip while swimming, there is a moment when you suddenly getting a sucking sensation as you transition from stable waters into an outward flow. I am starting to think we are in that transitional phase on global stability, that the 2030's are not going to be a comfortable time for many. They are ensuring that potential disruptors can be reigned in if needed. To try and stop things from being even more unpredictable, for better or worse. Buckle up. You don't build long term surveillance systems and billionaires don't build bunkers for what they think of as a temporary tough situation.
    - iamnothere 2mo ago
      Fair, perhaps I should have said until after the crisis passes its most acute phase. I expect the eventual energy and climate system shock to result in mass unrest and many excess deaths. Meanwhile wars are almost guaranteed, which will further stretch resources. If we make it out of the initial crisis without a strategic nuclear war, we may settle into a period of extended decline that’s relatively stable, though very unpleasant.
    - shnock 2mo ago
      Could you please link those warnings? I’m interested in institutional forecasts of such challenges in the upcoming decades.
      - 2mo ago
barney54 2mo ago
You are giving them way, way, way too much credit. They are not planning for a future economic crisis.

BLKNSLVR 2mo ago

Noticed the same with some media publishing anti-work-from-home articles recently. "We need the plebs to want to mock people who work from home, to reduce the reticence in coming back to work in the office" "We need our commercial property values to go back up" Edited to add: "Our managers need to _feel_ as if they're actually managing people"

matchbok3 2mo ago
It's 2026, the conspiracy theory that business people wanted RTO for office space value has been debunked 100 times. Such a silly, nonsense idea.
- walrus01 2mo ago
  You think that the size of investment firms that own something like, a good sized chunk of midtown Manhattan class A and B commercial real estate aren't capable of deploying social and tradtional-media influence tools to push an agenda to repopulate their office space? That would be a very inaccurate assessment of how large and motivated they are.
  - matchbok3 2mo ago
    If you are willing to believe a nonsense conspiracy like that then there is no way we could have a productive conversation.
    - walrus01 2mo ago
      You actually don't think that the world's largest REITs hire lobbyists at the municipal, state and federal levels? That's an extremely naive and uninformed position.
- samplatt 2mo ago
  That'd be a lot easier to believe if you provided a source, which you should do if you care enough to comment in the first place, I think? A cursory google suggests that the return-to-office movement is primarily driven by management's desire for voluntary turnover, avoiding the bad press of mass layoffs. But certainly doesn't show that it's 'been debunked 100 times'. In my own experience, it's been 50/50 a desire for voluntary turnover, and also a control tactic. Employees are easier to strong-arm when they're immersed in the idea that company culture actually matters.

ekianjo 2mo ago

Follow the money. That also shows which media sources you should never trust

pilingual 2mo ago

Drew Harwell, Douglas MacMillan, and Aaron Schaffer from the Washington Post also wrote a shameful article on this topic on August 4th (the title changed, along with an image of a woman who was harassed to something else). No counterpoint. Total submarine article.