US news team hit with illegal parking ticket in China, netizens share footage of them blocking traffic to film
A Fox News segment on surveillance in China has gone viral, but not entirely for the reasons intended.
The report, which aired on Special Report on Wednesday, featured host Bret Baier speaking about the extensive use of surveillance cameras in Beijing during United States (US) President Donald Trump’s visit.
In the segment, Baier claimed that his team received an illegal parking ticket just “two minutes” after parking, using the incident to illustrate how closely public spaces in China are monitored.
However, the report later drew a wave of criticism after footage surfaced online allegedly showing Baier and his crew filming from a busy road, with multiple vehicles passing close by.
Source: @Jingjing_Li on X
Fox airs special segment on surveillance cameras in China
During the Fox News segment, Baier described the number of surveillance cameras in Beijing, comparing the scene to Big Brother from George Orwell’s 1984.
“There are literally cameras everywhere in Beijing,” he said. “I can count at least 20 on this corner.”
Source: @TVNewsNow on X
Baier then said the cameras appeared to serve not only as a monitoring tool, but also as a way to deter offences in real time.
“In fact, our driver parked illegally for two minutes, and he got a message on his phone that he got a ticket for about US$40 because they saw it on the camera,” he added. US$40 is approximately S$50.
Towards the end of the segment, Baier questioned whether the sense of safety offered by such surveillance was worth the trade-off.
While the Chinese government has said cameras are meant to make people feel safe, Baier suggested that they could also be used to track citizens and enforce social credit systems.
Netizens criticise US news crew’s behaviour while filming
Soon after the segment aired, a separate clip allegedly showing Baier’s team filming in Beijing began circulating online.
The footage shows Baier walking along a busy road as vehicles pass by while he speaks to the camera.
At one point, he appears to stop near the middle of an intersection, with motorcyclists riding around him.
While Fox News is complaining they got a ticket for illegal parking … this is what his team is doing:
Beijing residents spotted this and uploaded it to Douyin: Fox News’ Bret Baier filming IN THE MIDDLE of busy traffic. pic.twitter.com/PDhMGFSeV8
— Li Jingjing 李菁菁 (@Jingjing_Li) May 14, 2026
According to the X user who reposted it, the footage was first uploaded to Douyin by Beijing residents and appeared to show Baier filming in the middle of busy traffic.
The post was uploaded on 14 May and garnered over 3.9 million views and 1,300 comments in just over a day.
The clip was also shared on Reddit, where reactions were mostly negative.
Source: Reddit
Many users accused the American media outlet of hypocrisy, arguing that it was criticising surveillance overseas while similar concerns over government and private-sector data collection exist in its own country.
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Featured image adapted from @Jingjing_Li on X and @TVNewsNow on X.
US news team hit with illegal parking ticket in China, footage shows them blocking traffic to film
