On Saturday, as protests against police brutality surged across the country, the Dallas Police Department tweeted out a call for tip videos containing “illegal activity from the protests.” Twitter user @7soulsmap used the tweet to remind people to obscure the faces of protestors in order to prevent police identification, according to BuzzFeed News. Multiple responses to that tweet suggested that people upload fancams, or fan videos, to the app. A day later, the app went down temporarily.
Crowdsourcing your narcs —
In a wild inability to read the room, the Dallas police asking for the public to help them arrest protestors is just a slice of the surveillance tech being used across the country. In the initial tweet thread, users sent several memes and K-pop videos to the Dallas Police Department with the latter crossing over into the tip app.
About a day later, the force announced on Twitter that the app was down. Various Twitter users confirmed having difficulties uploading more tips. People have also tanked the app’s rating in both app stores with one-star reviews and text supporting Black Lives Matter and justice for the murder of George Floyd. Both iOS and Android versions of the app currently hold a one-star rating, but the app is once again operational.
