A Majority of Social Media Conversations Disfavor the Transportation Security Administration’s New Airport Screening Measures

Social media conversation overwhelmingly disfavors the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) new airport screening measures, according to near real-time data collected by the Washington D.C. public affairs firm Powell Tate. The data is available at PoliPulse.com.

With thousands of Thanksgiving travelers headed to airports today, 76 percent of people sharing their opinion on social media, such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter, have expressed critical views in four categories of increasingly heated debate: support for an opt-out protest; concern about security measures causing delays; anger over TSA’s full-body scans violating personal liberty; and sentiment that security measures are overblown or misguided.

While about 22 percent of social buzz expressed positive opinions about the enhanced security procedures, conversations supporting “opting out” have grown dramatically, spiking to 30 percent today from 12 percent on Nov. 20.

Twitter members and users of other social media platforms may change their support of opt-out protests via mobile device as they find themselves in long lines at the airport; however, such widespread social media support is notable since many experts have categorized those supporting opt-out or expressing privacy concerns as fringe groups. Continual analysis will likely show if the opt-out and anti-screening camps remain unified or whether opt-out supporters will withdraw their endorsement as news spreads of delays caused by protesters.

Powell Tate is performing its analysis with PoliPulse, a proprietary social media sentiment analysis platform focusing on online conversation behind the news. It is capable of near real-time analysis of the social media environment’s significant issues of the day. Powell Tate conducts such analyses in partnership with Crimson Hexagon.