Ring unveiled its controversial AI-powered Search Party feature in a multimillion-dollar ad that aired during the Super Bowl, sparking blowback from privacy advocates from left to right and dead center. Although the feature was positioned as a helpful way to track down lost pets and bring them home safely, a leaked email from Ring’s founder reveals a much more sinister purpose: Ring intended to spy on people all along.Ring’s founder revealed the truth about Search PartyFrom the moment we heard about Search Party, one thing was clear — tracking down lost pets was only the tip of the iceberg. The obvious next step was clearly human surveillance. After all, Ring can already scan and identify designated humans with a feature called Familiar Faces. Once enabled, users can add the faces of friends and family to their Ring app so that their Ring camera can recognize these individuals when they stop by.Ring can tap into the live feeds of every Ring camera in a town block and analyze the footage with AI.Helpful? Maybe. Creepy? When you consider the way Ring wants to secretly turn Search Party into a mass surveillance tool, most definitely.We know this for a fact now, thanks to a leaked email written by Ring’s founder, Jamie Siminoff, himself. "I believe that the foundation we created with Search Party, first for finding dogs, will end up becoming one of the most important pieces of tech and innovation to truly unlock the impact of our mission," he begins, pivoting immediately to a grander picture. "You can now see a future where we are able to zero out crime in neighborhoods. So many things to do to get there, but for the first time ever, we have the chance to fully complete what we started.”Of course, Siminoff hides “the impact" of Ring’s "mission” under the guise of preventing crime in neighborhoods equipped with Ring cameras. Reading between the lines, though, the truth looks more like Ring actively moving toward creating a mass surveillance state with its network.For what it’s worth, Siminoff denies that Ring will tap into users’ feeds without their consent, assuring, “Across these features, sharing has always been the camera owner’s choice. Ring provides relevant context about when sharing may be helpful — but the decision remains firmly in the customer’s hands, not ours.” The Nancy Guthrie factorThis story is especially unique in the context of the Nancy Guthrie case, where the FBI obtained footage from a Google Nest doorbell camera that was believed to be inaccessible. While social media was quick to pounce on how this could’ve happened, we later discovered that the loophole responsible for saving the footage is covered in Nest’s terms of service.That didn’t stop Ring’s founder from commenting, though. Amid the hype over the case, Siminoff spoke with Fox Business to denounce that Ring would ever hold footage that was believed to be deleted or inaccessible. "I do know with Ring, specifically, if you delete a recording or if you don't want a recording, you don't have a subscription," he said. "We do not have it stored. I know that because I built the systems with my team.”RELATED: Amazon's Ring is running a spy ring from your home. Here's how to turn it off. But just because Ring doesn’t keep video files doesn't mean the footage goes to waste. With Search Party, Ring can tap into the live feeds of every Ring camera in a town block and analyze the footage with AI, essentially scanning them for whatever Ring is looking for. Right now, that’s lost pets. In a year or so, that could be real people — first criminals, then private citizens in general.So the fact that Ring doesn’t save footage like Nest isn’t really any consolation when the company simply leverages live feeds to achieve its goals instead.The only ways to opt out of Search PartyThis Search Party revelation comes shortly after Ring canceled its partnership with Flock, a third-party service that would’ve allowed police officers to request user footage to help solve criminal cases. Without a law enforcement connection, Search Party is virtually useless in stopping crimes. That only leaves mass surveillance, which again, Siminoff refutes.Wherever the truth lies, the leaked email is further proof that you should either disable Search Party or remove your Ring camera from your front door entirely. Unfortunately, as we mentioned last time, your camera is only part of the problem. As long as your neighbors keep their Ring cameras up and running, Amazon can still spy on your block whenever it pleases.

An off-duty detective thwarted what had all the makings of a potential church massacre last week in Sacramento.Brian Girardot Jr., 20, dropped off a younger relative at St. Mary Parish School on Wednesday morning, then allegedly returned around 9:30 a.m. when St. Mary Catholic Church was in the process of holding an all-school Ash Wednesday Mass next door.Amy Hale, the principal of the school, indicated that "all church doors were locked per our standard procedure" and "parent observers were positioned outside and inside the church."'F**k you die!'One of the parent observers, an off-duty detective, intercepted a suspicious man who approached the front of the church and claimed that he wanted to enter and attend the Mass.According to Hale, the parent observer "located and removed a loaded firearm, concealed on the man's person." The observer then detained the suspect until officers from the Sacramento Police Department arrived on the scene.Principal Hale assured parents that their children remained in the church throughout the Mass and that "no students came into contact with the man."RELATED: 'Pure bigotry': CNN fearmongers about 'Christian nationalism' in election-narrative tease Photo by ANDRI TAMBUNAN/AFP via Getty Girardot, a former student at St. Mary Parish School, was arrested without incident and slapped with felony charges for allegedly having a concealed firearm on his person and bringing a firearm into a school zone.U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced on Thursday that the former student has also been federally charged for allegedly possessing a firearm within a school zone.The Justice Department alleged that additional ammunition and a camouflage jacket were recovered from Girardot's vehicle, which was parked nearby.In their search of the suspect's home, law enforcement agents also found a series of handwritten notes that allegedly contained references to suicide and threats.According to court documents reviewed by KTXL-TV, one of the notes listed three family members and stated, "All of you are the reason I've done this."Another note reportedly said, "Suicide Note f**k you," on one side, and the reverse stated, "Rest of y'all ... f**k you die!!!"The gun allegedly taken from Girardot outside the church was a Taurus Tracker .44 Magnum. Prosecutors claimed that police found four more firearms in Girardot's garage including a 12-gauge shotgun and a Winchester Model 670 .30-06 rifle.Girardot, who is apparently ineligible for bail, is presently being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail.The Diocese of Sacramento joined Bishop Jaime Soto and the Department of Catholic Schools in expressing gratitude both for the parent observer's "vigilance" and that the incident was "resolved safely and that no students, teachers, or staff were harmed."The diocese added, "May the Lord Jesus, our rock and our refuge, watch over the schools and bless our children with peace and security."Girardot's arrest comes several months after a hate-filled 23-year-old trans-identifying man opened fire on a full Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, killing two children and injuring 29.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

CIA Director John Ratcliffe revealed last year that there were "multiple procedural anomalies" in the production of the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment — a document created at former President Barack Obama's urging that served as the cornerstone of the Russia collusion hoax.Ratcliffe emphasized that ex-CIA Director John Brennan sacrificed "analytical soundness" for "narrative consistency."The CIA evidently did not limit its prioritization of political agenda over fact to just the one document.After the President's Intelligence Advisory Board determined that dozens of analytical CIA assessments were similarly infected with political bias, Ratcliffe announced on Friday that he had ordered retractions or substantial revisions of 19 intelligence products."The intelligence products we released to the American people today — produced before my tenure as DCIA — fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned," the CIA director said in a statement.To provide some insight into the extent of the political perversion and suboptimal quality of past CIA products, Ratcliffe published three redacted versions of reports that the agency indicated "exhibit substantial deviations from the President's expectations that CIA's workforce remains independent from a particular audience, agenda, or policy viewpoint."'We owe it to the American people to correct the record.'One of the reports, published in October 2021, is titled "Women Advancing White Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremist Radicalization and Recruitment."The report:Concern-mongers about white women who "may not openly advocate violence but amplify white [racially and ethnically motivated violent extremist] narratives regarding their perceptions of racial and ethnic hierarchy, as well as perceived threats from those they see as advocating multiculturalism and globalization";Complains that some white women "have produced blogs, videos, or other online content under the guise of cooking tutorials, which feature discussions about the importance of organic food alongside subtle narratives about racial purity and the defense of white European heritage"; Haphazardly blurs the lines between bona fide white supremacists and individuals who've amplified the so-called conspiracy theory that "the white population is decreasing because of increasing immigration and birthrates among non-white groups";Notes that supposed radicals have dared to celebrate "motherhood and homemaking as women's most important responsibility";Leans heavily on left-wing media reports; andAdvocates modeling future messaging on the best practices from the Expert Center on Gender and Right-Wing Extremism, part of a leftist German NGO led by anti-white former Stasi collaborator Anetta Kahane.One of the other redacted reports released last week, an assessment published in July 2020 titled "Worldwide: Pandemic-Related Contraceptive Shortfalls Threaten Economic Development," similarly evinced an unmistakably leftist worldview.RELATED: Where in the Constitution is ‘the interagency’ anyway? Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAs its title suggests, the report concern-mongered about the impact of pandemic-era supply chain disruptions on the third world's access to abortions and contraceptives.It warned that an uptick in babies "in African and other developing countries would perpetuate poverty, strain household budgets, and limit disposable income for consumer goods, including U.S. exports."The document relied heavily on propaganda from the International Planned Parenthood Federation as well as the Guttmacher Institute, an NGO that advocates expanding abortion practices around the world."There is absolutely no room for bias in our work and when we identify instances where analytic rigor has been compromised, we have a responsibility to correct the record," Ratcliffe said. "These actions underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and objective intelligence analysis."CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis, whose internal review confirmed that the documents "did not meet the high standards the American people expect from the CIA's elite analytic workforce," tweeted, "When we fall short of our standards, we owe it to the American people to correct the record."Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) commended Ratcliffe "for correcting the record and ensuring that the CIA's analysis is free of any political bias," adding, "I've been sending these kind of reports back to the CIA for years and observing that they contain no intelligence.""Our intelligence agencies have too often missed critical national-security developments to waste time on, for instance, how 'pandemic-related contraceptive shortfalls threaten economic development,'" Cotton continued. "Honestly."Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) noted that Ratcliffe "has done a tone [sic] of work behind the scenes. Well done director!"Not all were pleased with the attempt to remedy the agency's ideological capture.Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) suggested that the retractions and revisions were "part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern in this administration: sidelining career experts, undermining inconvenient intelligence assessments, and allowing political considerations to override professional judgment.""When political appointees appear to dictate what analysis is valid, it threatens the credibility, reliability, and independence of the Intelligence Community itself," Warner added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The online response to a Huffington Post article whining that Olympics patriotism feels "yucky" is decidedly negative. While most Americans are swelling with pride over the victories racked up by U.S. Olympians in the Winter Games, some on the left are crippled by conflicting emotions. 'Being a left-wing extremist sounds utterly exhausting, miserable, and empty.'The article by Monica Torres proclaimed, "If waving the American flag or chanting 'USA!' turns you off right now, you're not alone." Right out of the gate, Torres assailed the Trump administration for killing unarmed civilians and detaining 2-year-olds, then went on to cite therapists treating the "cognitive dissonance." One expert said the angst could even manifest itself physically in the forms of "tightness in the neck, shoulder or jaw areas, as well as digestive issues and trouble sleeping." The progressive news outlet and Torres were pummeled online. "Who is this self-loathing cringe actually for? Who is the intended consumer?" asked one user on the X platform. "Imagine being so corrupted that you can’t even root for your nation’s exceptional young athletes. Pathetic!" read another reply. "If you hate America because you lost a free and fair election, you're not alone. You're a moron, and at least a fair bit anti-American, but that's HuffPo's audience, and their schtick," said another detractor. "Just fire everyone and close. Activism is not journalism," responded one critic. "Patriotic Americans cheer while Liberals struggle with cognitive dissonance over 3 words — USA.Grow up," replied another user."Delete this account, fire all of your editors…and rebrand," read another reply. RELATED: HuffPo calls to cancel Thanksgiving over global warming, and the online ridicule is brutal Photo by Andrea Branca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images "Being a left-wing extremist sounds utterly exhausting, miserable, and empty," responded Mollie Hemingway. The post of the article garnered more than 10 million views.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!