That viral article about 'airport scanners detecting 100% of drugs' had me fooled at first

I saw a post claiming new TSA scanners catch everything, and it made me nervous flying out of O'Hare last month. Then I found out the original source was a satirical blog, and actual TSA tests show they miss over 70% of contraband in independent audits. Anyone else fall for a 'big claim' article before checking the source?

4 comments

4 Comments

singh.harper5d agoTop Commenter

So @charles836, did your buddy ever actually look up the TSA's real success rate after that? Seems like a lot of people just assume theyre super scanners without checking how often they actually miss stuff.

fionafoster2d ago

I gotta say, the phrase "scanners see everything" is pretty funny when you think about it. But the real question is why did Mike not just look up the TSA website before he left for the airport? I mean, a five minute Google search would have told him exactly what those machines can and can't detect, instead of relying on some random article he skimmed. Is it really that hard for people to check official sources before they panic, or do they just like the drama?

charles8365d ago

Did you ever hear about my buddy Mike who almost got arrested because of a fake news article? He was flying out of Denver with a bag of legal CBD gummies and some melatonin, and he got so scared the scanners would flag it that he nearly flushed everything down the airport toilet. Turns out the whole "scanners see everything" thing was from a satirical site, but he only figured that out after getting all worked up. The worst part is he missed his flight while arguing with security about nothing. I swear, these fake posts get people all panicked for no reason.

charles8365d ago

Hate to play the other side here but that story sounds more like a guy who got spooked by his own bad planning than a fake news problem. Real satirical sites are easy to spot if you take five seconds to check the url or read the disclaimer at the bottom. Mike's panic and missing his flight is on him, not some article he read without thinking.