The Charlotte Douglas International Airport appears to be polling its visitors on their presidential preferences, as the city prepares for the Democratic National Convention at the beginning of September.
A traveler seeking to log on to the airport wifi this morning was met with this questionnaire powered by Google Insights, a common online consumer survey tool with an unusual question.
An airport representative didn't respond to an inquiry left on its media line.
UPDATE: An airport spokeswoman, Haley Gentry, said the survey had been done in violation of airport policy by a third-party advertiser, and that airport management does not see the data such campaigns collect.
"The Airport has an advertising policy that would prohibit the type of question that you referenced," she said. "We do frequently have advertising on our WiFi system which in the past has included the Google Consumer Surveys. The questions posed to users cover a variety of topics and are entirely skippable. Nevertheless, based on your inquiry, it appears that the question you referenced was part of this campaign. We are following up with our advertising manager to insure that all of our advertising meets the criteria of our policy."
She stressed that the airport was not itself conducting the survey.
"Like most airports we contract for advertising from third parties throughout the facility which includes the wifi system. The campaign you referenced was part of a Google advertisement not anything for the Airport. We do not see the collected data," she said.