Twitter lands congressman in hot water

Rep. Pete Hoekstra has found himself in hot water this week amidst allegations that his frequent updates, on the popular micro-blogging site Twitter, about his physical location were inappropriate when traveling to places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The updates--or "tweets"--gave away his location in near real time, and were criticized as being akin to the unauthorized leakage of classified information.

The congressman defended his actions by pointing out announcements by other high-ranking officials who list the countries they plan on visiting. More than the adoption of appropriate security practices, this episode highlights the eroding influence of traditional media as lawmakers increasingly seek out new ways to connect with and address their constituents.

As reported by Tech News World, congressional staffers have been asked to increasingly "find new ways to get out their talking points" and not to "rely solely on traditional media outlets like newspapers." The idea here is that traditional media might edit out or distort their views.

Whatever the case, this incident has led the Pentagon to review its policy regarding the dissemination of potentially sensitive information in light of new technologies such as Twitter.

For more on this story:
- check out this article from Tech News World

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