Social media: TSA takes to the blogosphere to set the record straight.

• Author: Wright, Austin
• Position: Homeland Security - Transportation Security Administration

At the airport, the Transportation Security Administration goes after potential terrorists. In cyberspace, it targets bloggers who may be spreading misinformation.

The blogosphere is constantly buzzing with TSA-related gripes and accusations.

Two years ago, the administration started pushing back. In early 2008, TSA officials launched a blog--www.tsa.gov/blog--that gives them a platform to address critics directly.

Nearly 2 million page-views later, it's safe to say the site has spun off into something its creators never imagined.

New posts, which are vetted by subject-matter experts and administration lawyers, average 3,000 to 5,000 unique hits and often accumulate more than 100 comments. The site has more than 1,000 subscribers. Other federal agencies have sought TSA's advice on how to start their own blogs.

Most importantly, said Bob Burns, also known as "Blogger Bob" of the TSA blog team, "We're able to answer a lot of the 'why' questions that passengers have."

On the blog, TSA officials explain new policies, discuss existing ones and address airport-security mishaps--such as the March 2009 incident in which a disabled 4-year-old was told to remove his leg braces before proceeding through metal detectors at Philadelphia International Airport. An account in The Philadelphia Inquirer said security officers wouldn't let his mother assist him through the checkpoint, even though the boy could barely walk on his own.

Officials didn't learn about the incident until February, according to a blog post Burns wrote Feb. 22. The airport's federal security director called the father to apologize, Burns said.

The incident has drawn congressional attention. Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are seeking a formal investigation. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., recently sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in which he asked for pertinent TSA records.

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Other incidents also have landed TSA in hot water.

In October, a blogger named Nicole White accused an unnamed transportation security officer of taking her toddler from her at an airport security checkpoint.

On the web, the story went viral. But there was one problem: TSA's video evidence contradicts White's version of events.

Burns responded to White's claims immediately.

"As a father of two small children, I empathized with her about the alleged circumstances," he wrote. "As a TSA employee and former [transportation security...