Fact-Checking TSA Rumors

This is one reason it's important for agencies to have not just blogs, but good, regularly updated blogs that are reasonably well-read. That way, when a story about a woman who claims she was separated from her baby by Transportation Security Officers begins to circulate, the agency can fact-check the rumor. And when security footage of the alleged incident takes place, they can post it. It's public relations, of course, but it feels much less like the agency is trying to nuke someone who was upset, and for some reason is giving a false account, and much more like a reliable voice is explaining something that happened. Agencies have to establish credibility on their blogs first. But once they do, they'll be in a much stronger position to be treated like a trusted voice who should be considered--and potentially deferred to--when something like this happens.