In Baltimore, for the Preakness, there were vehicle checkpoints, background checks of stable hands, bomb-sniffing dogs, security cameras and undercover officers posted at various points around the track and in the stables.
The poll, commissioned by Planned Parenthood, surveyed 800 registered voters by telephone between Thursday and Sunday to determine whether the undercover footage posted earlier this month by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress had affected Americans' opinions of the family planning organization.
The investigation found that serious errors, especially the posting of undercover agents on rooftops, led to the death and injury of Israeli soldiers and to the escape of the raid's target, Mahmoud Abu Hanoud.
There had been no explicit terrorist threats or government warnings, but a large force of uniformed and undercover officers was posted along the route.
The blog, chronicler of gardening and "aspiring raw foodists," makes its case by posting, for example, an undercover snap of a man in a pink scarf, wool cap and white earphones captioned, "Overalls on the L Train".
Eight years ago, Barrington was prosecuted after posting a picture on his website of an undercover policeman and captioning it with "this bullet is for you".
In 2009, he posted an undercover film on one of his websites which brought ridicule to the community group Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
Robert Zito, a spokesman for the New York Stock Exchange, said the market cooperated with investigators, allowing the police to post an undercover officer on the trading floor.
"Netizens first coined the term 'Fifty Cent Party' to refer to undercover Internet commentators who were paid by the government to sway public opinion" by posting pro-Beijing statements, reputedly for 50 cents a shot, according to China Digital Times.
