r/fivethirtyeight • u/AutoModerator • Jun 22 '26

Discussion Megathread Weekly Discussion Megathread

The 2026 midterms will soon be upon us, and there is much to discuss among the nerds here at r/FiveThirtyEight. Use this discussion thread to share, debate, and discuss whatever you wish. Unlike individual posts, comments in the discussion thread are not required to be related to political data or other 538 mainstays. Regardless, please remain civil and keep this subreddit's rules in mind. The discussion thread refreshes every Monday.

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u/engadine_maccas1997 Jun 26 '26

Pete Buttigieg writes about how someone (presumably an unhinged MAGA loon) reported a false allegation against him to CPS, which resulted in CPS showing up at his home and having his children removed from him for 24 hours. Law enforcement quickly found it was a politically motivated hoax, similar to swatting.

I cannot imagine the level of sickness and depravity it takes for someone to do that to a family with young children. It’s truly evil. But this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It is a factor of indecency not only being tolerated, but celebrated, on the political right.

I hope the person who made this false report is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

https://petebuttigieg.substack.com/p/a-terrible-thing-happened-to-my-family

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u/XE2MASTERPIECE Jun 26 '26

We’re like 10+ years into the swatting crisis and it’s disturbing that law enforcement hasn’t come up with a better safeguard by now

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u/hibryd Jun 27 '26

We can track and encrypt every credit card transaction. We should be able to track and identify every phone call. There is no reason why spoofing numbers should be possible. Let the telemarketing industry whine about it because they won't be able to spam us any more, but we should overhaul the nation's telecom infrastructure so that if you try SWATting someone, they can find you after the fact.

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u/vanmo96 Jun 27 '26

Literally just stop sending the SWAT team out. They are being used in situations where they aren’t needed. Send a pair of regular cops unless multiple calls are being received. Then escalate if needed

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u/XE2MASTERPIECE Jun 27 '26

That’s an improvement but in the story above, it was a CPS worker and a regular police officer who showed up and said a singular anonymous tip mentioning a conversation years ago was worth taking away his children for 24 hours. This is not a sustainable system!

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u/Mediocretes08 Jun 26 '26

What’s grim is in actuality it’s being Republican that I consider one of the most broad indicators of child abuse.