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this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2025
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politics
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So, where does the guy get this data? Do phone companies give out their network data?
Yep they do. Its either directly or through apps that track and sell your location data. But lots of people either wouldnt have their phone with them or have gps disabled so this 20k number is obviously stupid.
FTFY.
Yah I think your overestimating the lot of people.
Maybe, but its just statistically unlikely that whatever dataset they used to get this number, would have included every single person there.
They do not, at least not in the way that this couple of Twitter influencers is claiming.
If you are a bounty hunter (bail bondsman) for instance you can pay a fee to get a rough location on a phone number that you provide. That does not work in this instance, there's no service that allows you to ask, "send me the phone numbers and account ownership names of every single mobile device in this 3 mile radius during the protest".
There is absolutely no way they have tracking data for the 30,000-odd attendees across all the various mobile providers and platforms (Apple/Google/etc) just a day or so later without state-level surveillance agencies access. And even then, the picture would be incomplete and need a LOT of work for them to make the claims they're making about it overlapping with other groups they're monitoring.
Its all made up.
Plus it's not the government making this claim, but an "alt-right influencer". Their audience isn't going to fact-check anything they agree with anyway, so why not just lie?
The government has devices called stingrays that perform a mitm attack granting access to a few types of information, including GPS: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker
Whistleblowers revealed NSA equipment rooms at at&t: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/memoriam-mark-klein-att-whistleblower-about-nsa-mass-spying
Almost every citizen is carrying a tracking device with a powerful microphone, all their communications, and location. It's a little tinfoil hattish, but I would be willing to bet they can draw a shape on a map and see who was in that area during a certain timeframe.
Leave your phone home if you are attending any events that the government might not like.
You don’t even need a complicated MITM attack like that. The data is for sale by the telecoms.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-gave-a-bounty-hunter-300-dollars-located-phone-microbilt-zumigo-tmobile/
https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/10/18/for-1000-anyone-can-purchase-online-ads-to-track-your-location-and-app-use/
They can draw a shape on a map and see who's in there. They did it during occupy wallstreet
It's literally why Google stopped storing location history. And people where complaining about it.
And your assuming they even have data or are just making shit up.
Try again on that last sentence.
From his arsehole.
2000 ~~Mules!!~~ Fools!