Factual error: After Will logs in, the screen greets him with "Domestic Terror Analyst" under his name. This is not an actual U.S. government job title; the closest real roles would be Intelligence Analyst or Counterterrorism Analyst. In reality, a secure government system would never display the user's specific role or specialty on the login screen, as it's an OPSEC risk. Such screens usually show only the agency or system name. (00:00:35)
Factual error: Will's DHS desktop shows apps like Spotify, WhatsApp, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Such consumer programs would not be installed on a classified government system handling domestic terrorism intelligence, as they pose security risks. Classified workstations use locked-down, vetted software, not public cloud or media apps. (00:00:40)
Revealing mistake: When Will launches "Guardian," the window shows the Restore icon (two overlapping squares) in the title bar even though the app isn't maximized (desktop is visible around it). In Windows, that icon only appears when a window is maximized; a non-maximized window should show a single Maximize square. (00:00:45)
Factual error: When Will launches the "Guardian 8.6.2 2024 - Database Software," the splash screen shows a stylized hawk logo and the slogan "Freedom and Security for All." Real DHS or Homeland Security database tools don't use marketing-style branding, public-sounding mottos, or the year in the title. Classified government software typically has plain, minimal splash screens without decorative logos or slogans, both for security and professionalism. (00:00:47)
Factual error: The secure "Guardian" database login screen includes a "Load Previous Session" checkbox. Classified government systems don't allow this, as prior sessions are terminated for security, requiring a fresh login and full reload of data. Retaining a previous session would be a major security and chain-of-custody risk in intelligence work, and is not a feature used in real DHS or counterterrorism databases. (00:00:50)
Factual error: Will pulls up a map of Washington DC and surrounding areas, just before selecting cameras to tap into the feed of. With an air traffic overlay showing multiple aircraft directly over the National Mall, Capitol, and White House... all inside the city's strict no-fly zone. One or two could be on official clearance, but this many flights in restricted airspace are unrealistic. (00:00:55)
Factual error: Several security camera feeds display unrealistic overlays such as "Threat Level: Medium/Low," "No suspicious activity," or "Secret Service handover of all routes." Real surveillance systems don't simplify threat assessment into game-like labels or display sensitive operational details over live video. Facilities like the White House, Pentagon, and NSA maintain constant high security, not fluctuating public-style threat levels. (00:01:10)
Revealing mistake: Both NSA and Pentagon feeds display "HD" and "4K" at the same time, which are different resolutions and wouldn't be listed together. The NSA feed also shows a battery icon despite being a fixed security camera, not a portable device. These are unrealistic HUD elements for professional surveillance systems. It is also the same display with battery at 80% from both cameras, indicating it is just a copy-paste in the editing. Several other shots have the exact same overlay later as well. (00:01:30)
Factual error: Just before the drone shot, the surveillance feed shows a busy city crosswalk, but the on-screen coordinates are 32.443518° N, 169.446082° W, placing the location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean over 1,600 miles from land. Moments later, the same coordinates appear again in the drone footage, revealing that the filmmakers reused the same HUD data for two completely different locations. (00:01:35)
Continuity mistake: When Will is watching two guys walk over a crosswalk and is listening to one of their phones, Will's white undershirt collar goes from pulled out to tucked in under his hoodie's collar. (00:01:40)
Factual error: The "drone" view of DHS HQ lists coordinates (32.441000° N, 169.451116° W) that place it in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from D.C. The HUD shows impossible flight data - one side reads 517 knots at 3,632 ft, the other 2 mph at 2,228 ft. It also uses the callsign "PCSD Survey 2," more fitting for a county sheriff's drone than DHS, and includes filler terms like "SLAVE READY" that aren't standard for real UAV systems. (00:01:45)
Factual error: After showing the sign for DHS headquarters at 3801 Nebraska Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the next shot depicts a modern glass high-rise as the building. The real DHS Nebraska Avenue Complex is a collection of older brick buildings, not a sleek office tower, making the establishing shot inaccurate to the location shown. The drone shot also shows the building as the DHS headquarters. (00:01:45)
Factual error: The "Dulles Airport" feeds for Concourse B and Concourse C look nothing alike. Concourse B is clean HD with neutral colour, while Concourse C has a heavy green tint, thicker scan lines, lower resolution, and more blurred areas. A real airport security system would have consistent camera quality, making it clear these were filmed in different locations and dressed up with overlays. (00:01:50)
Revealing mistake: In the Dulles Airport surveillance feed scene, the system is supposed to be doing facial recognition on everyone, but the two people walking toward the camera have their faces blurred out. This was probably done for filming privacy, but in reality it makes no sense for the system to censor itself. Will would be looking at non-blurred faces. This indicates it was taken from real footage recorded earlier and then edited for the movie. Signs and clothing logos are also blurred in this "live security footage." (00:01:50)
Factual error: A camera feed is labeled as being Dulles International Airport, Concourse B, but the interior shown doesn't match Dulles. The real concourse has tall, open spaces with arched ceilings and different flooring. The scene shows a low-ceiling concourse with a patterned tile floor and escalator layout unlike the actual airport, indicating it was filmed in a different location. (00:01:50)
Factual error: The "domestic terror suspect" list shows real hacker groups (Anonymous, Fancy Bear, Lazarus Group) alongside apparent solo hacker handles ("Black Cat," "StarFire," "Thelma and Louise"). A real watchlist wouldn't mix groups and individuals in one table with identical statuses, nor would it show only one profile picture, especially when that image is just a generic "hooded hacker" stock shot. The rest being just a "?" mark. (00:02:00)
Factual error: Will types "Domestic terror suspect watchlist" into a generic "Search Engine." Real DHS analysts don't keyword-search a made-up list; they query specific systems (TSDB/TIDE/TECS/Secure Flight, etc.) with structured fields (name, DOB, IDs) and a purpose code. The "Database" field is left blank as he hits enter, the filter is mislabeled "Data Range" (should be Date), and UI options like "Show All/Share" wouldn't appear on a classified system. (00:02:00)
Revealing mistake: The Georgetown University surveillance feed shows every camera using the same IP address (126.113.203.60). The exact same IP is seen earlier on feeds for Washington DC street corners, the Pentagon, and NSA HQ. In reality, these would all have different addresses. The movie just reused the same overlay without changing the details. (00:02:20)
Character mistake: A NASA scientist calls a DHS domestic-terror analyst to report strange global storms... wrong chain of contact. Weather/anomaly alerts would route to NOAA/Air Force/USSF, not DHS counterterrorism over Teams. She then claims "all our NASA satellites are blind." If that were true, it would affect multiple U.S. agencies and commercial constellations worldwide and trigger an immediate high-level crisis response, not a casual call. Why is a NASA rep calling DHS about storm phenomenon? (00:02:35)
Revealing mistake: Will answers a video call from Sandra, and after he says what's up, her video appears, and she's already talking mid-sentence. (00:02:45)
