'You got me': The Hill's tweet about Putin's gift of a "bugged" soccer ball is prime click-bait

Wow, talk about click-bait. Lots of people who didn’t read the article sure were triggered by this tweet by The Hill Wednesday:

Soccer ball Putin gave Trump contains chip that can transmit data to cell phones: report https://t.co/KcobUjqkTa pic.twitter.com/DDCJaIEWTb

— The Hill (@thehill) July 25, 2018

Whoa! That’s huge! Vladimir Putin gave President Trump a bugged soccer ball so he could spy on his cell phone calls, or maybe track his movements by GPS?

Um, not quite. The Hill reports:

[Bloomberg] noted that photos of the ball show a logo for a near-field communication (NFC) tag, a chip that is included in the Adidas 2018 FIFA World Cup ball. Russia hosted this year’s World Cup.

Adidas AG soccer balls, similar to the one Putin presented to Trump during a joint press conference last week, contain a small chip that can send content to mobile devices. Users can hold their phones close to the ball to access videos and competitions, according to Bloomberg.

So it’s not quite a spying device, although it did undergo a routine security screening, the Secret Service said.

well played @thehill you got me on this one.

— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) July 25, 2018

this has to be a joke right? or just terrible click bait?

— Kevin JC (@kaejacee) July 25, 2018

https://twitter.com/Puro_Bot/status/1022162790411395074

A lot of balls have chips in them so you can collect data on your game. They're called smartballs.

— SUPERBLOOD MOONWOLF ??? (@delmoi) July 25, 2018

pic.twitter.com/LEwAmJs7s8

— Dr. Matthew Schabath (@MatthewSchabath) July 25, 2018

Seriously. The headline is different in the article. ??‍♀️

— Melody ?? ????✊???? (@melodysbg) July 25, 2018

This is a stupid, meaningless story. It's not a Russian spy bug, it's a standard part of all Adidas balls. If you switch on NFC on your phone and tap it to the ball, it links you to a World Cup promotion on the Adidas website. That's it. https://t.co/xGr2cbZFVt

— Ste JM ??? (@stejormur) July 25, 2018

Right in front of the entire world. And trump wants to know what kind of a lawyer would tape him? He screamed endlessly and erroneously about Obama wiretapping Trump Tower but Putin personally handing him a bugged soccer ball and silence? https://t.co/bpbD4kEcws

— Tess (@Tesscatbird) July 25, 2018

In other news, don’t take gifts from dictators who would love to know your secrets. https://t.co/Vfb4vJx7zi

— Cobalt Sixty (@403Verboten) July 25, 2018

It would have been news if it wasn't bugged. https://t.co/E30TrzQQ1d

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) July 25, 2018

But don’t forget there was no collusion and Russia didn’t interfere with the 2016 election… smfh https://t.co/KtiCX6l4NZ

— Kristina (@KriStinaM_15) July 25, 2018

Like this whole Russia thing wasn’t already transparent/obvious enough … https://t.co/lTEcZ8xktM

— Dennis Johnson (@MobyLives) July 25, 2018

There's two possibilities I see here.

1) The ball is bugged.

2) The ball is not bugged, but Putin gave a ball that obviously had electronics in it so that people would think Trump is an (even bigger) idiot/traitor for accepting it. https://t.co/1bD0tVKvih

— Professor Snarky (@ProfSnarky) July 25, 2018

Anyone surprised? Putin will give his orders through the soccer ball…. https://t.co/CPiAJJ1bMl

— ?(((Wendy)))?#Resist (@NstyWmnWendy) July 25, 2018

https://twitter.com/tsnkra/status/1022176619723743234

Right out of a James Bond movie. But unfortunately, this is real life with real consequences. #ThisIsNotAGame https://t.co/bZlqmZhbFm

— JAC (@JointActionComm) July 25, 2018

Putin. Hacked. The. President. https://t.co/r1sqmPNRQX

— Diane N. Sevenay (@Diane_7A) July 25, 2018

We’re sure Trump has the soccer ball on his desk in the Oval Office too.

Related:

Actor Bradley Whitford seeks human barricades to prevent Putin from 'desecrating' the White House https://t.co/oPG7xOuRpY

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 21, 2018