Citizen is Now Paying New Yorkers To Livestream Crimes (inputmag.com) 56
Citizen, otherwise known as "the worst kind of hyperlocal app ever created," is now willing to pay people to livestream crimes around New York City. The company is reportedly hiring people in the Big Apple at a starting rate of $25 per hour to run around the city and start streaming crimes to the web in real-time. From a report: The exact nature of these hires -- including their very existence -- is being kept mostly quiet by Citizen. Any public-facing recruiting for these positions is being done on the DL; one post on JournalismJobs.com from last week sought "field team members" to work for "a tech company with user-generated content."
"You will be live-streaming from your phone straight to the app, covering the event as news," the job posting read. Citizen's name was not included anywhere in the now-deleted posting, according to the New York Post. The company does not post these positions on its website, either.
"You will be live-streaming from your phone straight to the app, covering the event as news," the job posting read. Citizen's name was not included anywhere in the now-deleted posting, according to the New York Post. The company does not post these positions on its website, either.
Bumfights (Score:2)
A cause for concern.
What a bargain! (Score:4, Interesting)
$25/hour to get waxed by an angry criminal sure seems like a great deal to me!
Would they have you on a police scanner in a car, ready to zoom to the scene of the nearest crime like an observational only Spider Man?
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Re:What a bargain! (Score:5, Interesting)
Snow Crash was a book where I was introduced to the futuristic concept of a "Gargoyle" who recorded media, analyzed data, and monetized everything around them, that they could. This is another step along the path.
Re:What a bargain! (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:What a bargain! (Score:4, Funny)
$25/hour to get waxed by an angry criminal sure seems like a great deal to me!
I mean, couldn't they just go film 24/7 on Wallstreet?
Bear Market (Score:4, Funny)
I mean, couldn't they just go film 24/7 on Wallstreet?
Yes but nobody likes reruns.
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Re:What a bargain! (Score:5, Funny)
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$25/hour to get waxed by an angry criminal
You assume that everyone will be shoving their annoying phones in criminals faces. Give me a rooftop and a digital night vision scope on a rifle and I'd be more than happy to participate.
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You assume that everyone will be shoving their annoying phones in criminals faces. Give me a rooftop
If the job came with rooftop access for most of the city, I would be in regardless of WHAT the job was.
Imagine how much they charge for a shave! (Score:3)
$25/hour to get waxed by an angry criminal sure seems like a great deal to me!
I heard electrolysis is more expensive.
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$25/hour to get waxed by an angry criminal sure seems like a great deal to me!
I heard electrolysis is more expensive.
If he uses electrolysis, he's a smooth criminal!
This won't end badly or anything (Score:1)
You won't have people getting shot, stabbed, or beaten because they're standing around filming a crime in progress.
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This begs the question: Is there really that much crime in NY that you can walk around livestreaming it?
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I beg to differ
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Now, that's ironic.
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No I’m not an autist and that stuff doesn’t bother me. Now off to the ATM machine. Hope my PIN number works.
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Can we film people who mis-use the phrase "begging the question" [wikipedia.org] instead of "raising the question"?
Can we accept that the vernacular use of words and phrases can change their meaning?
(Guess what? Your grandparents spin in their graves every time you open your mouth to speak...)
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Next... (Score:1)
Information wants to be free (Score:1)
Well I mean
I meant songs and movies and software and pornography and stuff
Not evidence of actual crimes
I don't want to get hurt
creepy dystopia (Score:2)
Welcome to our new creepy dystopia where you are always under surveillance and angry mobs of citizens will be dispatched to administer justice.
There is always a crime streaming on Citizen, can you feel the urgency yet? Bring out your inner Spiderman and get involved! You're not a vigilante, you're a Hero!
Nevermind that crime is down to 1960's levels:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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So call in vigilantes? And they've been wrong before, https://www.theverge.com/2021/... [theverge.com].
Why do I trust some for-profit business that relies on fear and constant engagement? Citizen's motivation isn't to help anyone, its to keep people glued to its app.
Why do you support such garbage and act like its law enforcement?
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Nevermind that crime is down to 1960's levels
That's property crime.
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Here are some other stats:
https://www.statista.com/topic... [statista.com]
While you can find some that are even or up, many are still down. There is still crime but it is not like the 1990s.
will any of this be usable in court? (Score:3)
will any of this be usable in court?
The amazing citizen! (Score:2)
Spiderman, Spiderman!
Does whatever a spider he can.
Spins a web any size,
Catches thieves, just like flies.
Look out! Here comes the Spiderman!
Is he strong? Listen, Bud!
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead.
Hey there, there goes the Spiderman!
In the chill of night,
At the scene of the crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time
Spiderman, Spiderman
Friendly neighborhood Spiderman
Wealth and fame he's ignored
Action is his reward
To him, life is a great big bang-up
Wherever
Isn't this just reality TV? (Score:1)
Isn't this just reality TV - perhaps with less scripting and more reality?
I don't see any issues here.
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Go for some (Score:2)
The legal ramifications of this are insane... (Score:1)
Wait until someone gets creamed or killed, and people profit from the videotape. I can see someone's next of kin suing and getting a ton of dosh from something like this.
This isn't COPS... nobody has signed model release forms, and there are no presumptions here, so libel/slander charges can be brought up.
NYC is known for its lawyers, and they are going to have a feast on this.
if some live steams an underage rape criminal liab (Score:3)
If some live steams an underage rape. Then there may be criminal liability for child pron.
Anything this terrible in cyberpunk? (Score:2)
The NRA from Jennifer Government comes close, but they were a fairly straightforward mercenary organization, this is much more vile somehow. This app seems to be set up to create a positive feedback loop of amplifying news about crime and offering more and more socially irresponsible ways to handle reports of perceived/suspected/"suspected" (by Karen) crimes.
Own crimes (Score:4, Insightful)
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It's the criminal version of I'm gonna write me a new minivan this afternoon!" [dilbert.com].
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It took me few reads to realize they meant to record crimes committed by others.
"worst kind of app" (Score:1, Interesting)
Citizen has a 4.8 out of 5 star ratings on the Apple store. Why are you "Woke" types so against people trying to protect themselves and keeping themselves safe? Do you think you are going to cause a breakdown in society when crime runs rampant, and trigger a switch to a Marxist based system? It is strange to me that Slashdot and the people who visit it are literally on the wrong side of society.
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Why are you "Woke" types so against people trying to protect themselves
Because it's about bypassing the mainstream media's control of the politically correct narrative. We can't have the public seeing uncurated crime videos and drawing their own conclusions.
How many fights will be staged? (Score:3)
Is Citizen a Branch of the FBI? (Score:2, Interesting)
FBI agents were involved more closely in an alleged 2020 plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan than they previously admitted.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/a... [buzzfeednews.com]
"An examination of the case by BuzzFeed News also reveals that some of those informants, acting under the direction of the FBI, played a far larger role than has previously been reported. Working in secret, they did more than just passively observe and report on the actions of the suspects. Instead, they had a hand in nearly every aspect of the alleg
What a ripoff! (Score:2)
Considering your just as likely to get shot by the police or a vigilante by being a bystander, who on earth would accept a measly $25 an hour?
Can they do the crimes themselves? (Score:4, Insightful)
Less searching for it that way.
Citizen should stick to their core business (Score:2)
Namely, watches and pocket calculators.