A bomb-threat joke made by a Dutch teen against American Airlines on Sunday has turned viral, with other Twitter users following her lead and presumably causing headaches for airline employees and security officials alike.
In a tweet sent Sunday, a Twitter user described as a 14-year-old by the name of Sarah wrote to American Airlines saying: “Hello my name’s Ibrahim and I’m from Afghanistan. I’m part of Al Qaida and on June 1st I’m gonna do something really big bye.” The tweet was sent from the now suspended Twitter account @queendemetriax_.
A tweet conversation with American Airlines officials followed, who replied “Sarah, we take these threats very seriously. Your IP address and details will be forwarded to security and the FBI.”
On Monday, Sarah was arrested in Rotterdam, but that seems to have done nothing other than encourage more pranksters to target more airlines.
The pranks are putting additional strain on airlines already striving to manage their social media presence. But not all Twitter users approve.
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