These TSA porn photos would be alarming — if they were real
Earlier this month, Gizmodo and the Drudge Report posted the images below. The first is supposed to be from the TSA’s whole body imaging machines, and the second is supposed to be the image after it’s been “inverted” and “tinted” using Photoshop. Redacted version below, and original pornoriffic version here [NSFW].
I missed the Gizmodo post with these images when it was originally published on January 8. My brother-in-law directed me to it this weekend.*
When I saw the photos, my first reaction was to rethink my acceptance of the full body scanners. (I am not the only one who has voiced acceptance. A USA Today poll has 78% of respondents saying they approve.)
My second reaction was, “Dude. That’s gotta be fake.”
The second reaction was the right one. Gizmodo and Drudge Report have been caught with their pants down. Photos debunked, after the jump.
The first clue to this being a hoax is that people don’t usually assume the Jesus pose while being checked out by TSA personnel. In fact, the woman is not a frequent flyer. She’s a nude model; this photo comes from this shoot [NSFW]:
From a German photo website
Here’s that particular shot [NSFW].
So yeah…. the image that Drudge Report and Gizmodo linked was hot and made TSA images seem like they could be hot. But most images look like this. Not hot.
There are certainly reasons to be concerned about these scanners, including how horrifically expensive they are. But these photos were misleading and not reflective of what can actually be done with TSA porn.
Neither Gizmodo nor Drudge have acknowledged that the photos they posted were fake, though Gizmodo commenters have pointed it out.
Gizmodo titled its post: “Is It This Easy to Pull Straight Nude Pics From Airport Scanners?” The answer is, “No.”
(A German site has also debunked the photos, though I can’t read the article.)
* People continue to seek out the Gizmodo post. When I started writing this post on Wednesday morning, the post had 170,000 views. When I completed writing and published my post Wednesday evening, the Gizmodo post’s view count had surpassed 200,000. That’s 30,000 views in a single day, almost 3 weeks after the post was published. So it would be wise for Gizmodo to add a “this is a hoax” update.
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Hi. Blogger Bob here from the TSA Blog. I enjoyed your article. I just wanted to let you know that even the Gizmodo pictures you link to are more revealing than the ones our officers actually see.
You can check out the pictures in our latest blog post: http://bit.ly/92uYhj
Thanks,
Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team
calling those images porn or pornoriffic is a BIG stretch
Does anyone else find it kind of odd that the numero uno lobbyist for outfit that makes the scanners, rejected by the Brits and Israelis, is none other Mike Chertoff?
And what about Coulter’s concerns about foreskin and anal cavity bombers?
And what about the minor side effects? I guess if we want to feel completely safe at all times, and at all costs, we shouldn’t worry about such things and just keep our mouths shut.
http://www.truthout.org/article/full-body-scanners-used-air-passengers-may-damage-human-dna
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/ann-coulter-is-worried-about-foreskin-and-anus-bombing/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/23/AR2010012301296.html
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Laura Swisher, True/Slant, San Antonio, Log-Con, lewisdvorkin and others. lewisdvorkin said: RT @trueslant These TSA porn photos would be alarming. If they were real. – Kashmir Hill – The Not-So Private … http://tinyurl.com/ya5cndy [...]
Blogger reported that almost a month before you guys did.
http://towhichireplied.blogspot.com/2010/01/detail-of-airport-body-scanner-images.html
[...] role is at the airport. Maybe she’s not actually a “scanner person” and has been fooled by this hoax into thinking her colleague captured a porn star version of [...]
[...] [...]
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[...] scanner, those are actual photos of a nude woman retouched to make it look like scanner photos. These TSA porn photos would be alarming ? if they were real – Kashmir Hill – The Not-So Private Part… Though it doesn't make the AIT machines any less egregious. Its still a virtual strip [...]
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[...] of the machines right? No it was put out in a post on Drudge Report and poached by Gizmodo http://trueslant.com/KashmirHill/201…drudge-report/ What is scary is that this image lives on almost a year after it was proven fake. I find this [...]
Those pictures may be fake, but a simple youtube search will reveal that the nude scanners do reveal quite a lot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKnY8-G26Ww&t=0m47s
You can clearly see the guys penis moving around.
[...] I’m still torn on whether or not I’ll go through them in the future, or continue to opt for the pat down. The scanning is (obviously) much quicker than the pat down, and the geek of me was kind of impressed: the new scanners are much better designed than the old, with open glass frames and no feeling of claustrophobia or discomfort. The use of generic body outlines, as opposed to the ‘naked’ images of the old scanners, also relieves many of my worries about ending up on a scanner porn site. (It’s worth noting that the first image – which happens to be the most porno-rific – also appears to be faked.) [...]