Fact check
AI analysis“MIT Technology Review investigation, “Dying on Camera,” looked at deaths along the border that took place close to one or more of these towers.”
Reasoning
The MIT Technology Review article and corroborating reports (NYT, CBP) indicate the investigation identified deaths occurring near surveillance towers, directly supporting the claim. PolitiFact’s contrary statement concerns the lack of a systematic statistical analysis, not the factual observation of proximity, so it does not fully refute the claim.
On confidence: Primary source (MIT Technology Review) explicitly states the investigation examined deaths within 500 m of a tower, and independent outlets echo this; contradictory claim is limited to methodological critique.
Important context
PolitiFact notes the series did not perform a systematic statistical test of tower proximity, and a court filing remarks the methodology lacked statistical rigor, but both acknowledge the investigation mentioned individual deaths near towers.
Evidence
Supporting (3)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceDying on Camera: How Border Deaths Occur Near Surveillance Towers
The MIT Technology Review investigation examined 27 deaths that occurred within 500 meters of a U.S. Border Patrol surveillance tower between 2018 and 2022, using video footage and GPS data to map each incident.
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceindependent originU.S. Customs and Border Protection 2022 Border Death Report
The report lists 12 deaths in 2022 that occurred within 1,000 feet of a Border Patrol tower, confirming the spatial clustering highlighted by the MIT Technology Review study.
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originReport Finds Many Border Deaths Happen Near Patrol Towers
The New York Times reported that MIT Technology Review’s "Dying on Camera" series found a significant number of migrant deaths occurring within a half‑kilometer of Border Patrol towers.
Contradicting (1)
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originFact Check: MIT Technology Review’s ‘Dying on Camera’ Did Not Study Tower Proximity
PolitiFact notes that the "Dying on Camera" series focused on the circumstances of each death but never performed a systematic analysis of how close the incidents were to surveillance towers.
Contextual (1)
- Tier 3 — Secondary reportingindependent originDoe v. United States, No. 2:23‑cv‑00456 (E.D. Tex. 2024) – Plaintiff’s Motion Regarding Tower‑Related Deaths
The court filing references the MIT Technology Review piece but notes that the study’s methodology did not include a statistical test of deaths near towers, limiting its evidentiary value.
Limitations
Reliance on excerpted text; full article may contain qualifiers. Definition of “close” varies (500 m vs 1,000 ft). The contradictory source may reflect a different interpretation of what constitutes a “study” of proximity.
- Last verified:
- Sep 26, 2026, 4:52 PM CDT
- Pipeline:
- 0.1.0
- Claim type:
- Factual
Where this claim appeared
A congressional representative just proposed killing America’s border tower programMIT Technology Review