CIA on Twitter! It’s official- everyone has twitter and facebook, even the Central Intelligence Agency now. They already had a whopping 105 thousand followers within their first two hours of joining on Fri., Jun. 6. Additionally, their first tweet was retweeted over 85 thousand times during this span. Upon joining Facebook, their page received over 73 hundred likes by the end of the day.
The CIA already has Flickr and Youtube accounts. Evidently, they are receiving a PR push from the American intelligence community (IC). Especially following the Edward Snowden fiasco in which disclosures concerning the National Security Agency’s surveillance were released abundantly.
The CIA is falling a little bit behind other government agencies, however.The National Security Agency joined Twitter back in 2009, while the FBI joined in 2008.
The CIA’s first tweet said, “We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.” Clever and humorous or insensitive?
Director of Amnesty International USA Security and Human Rights Program, Zeke Johnson, commented on the CIA’s social media involvement, saying, “The CIA’s first Tweet would be funny if it weren’t for the agency’s use of torture and extrajudicial executions.” He then added, “They should put as least as much effort into following the law as they do into social media. The full truth about the CIA torture and drone strikes should be made public immediately and those responsible for crimes held accountable.”
John Brennan, CIA director said in a public release Sat., Jun. 7, “By expanding to these platforms, CIA will be able to more directly engage with the public and provide information on CIA’s mission, history, and other developments. We have important insights to share, and we want to make sure that unclassified information about the Agency is more accessible to the American public that we serve, consistent with our national security mission.”
The CIA declared that they would post, “the latest news, statements, and career information from CIA,” via social media. They said that they would also post, “artifacts and other information from the CIA’s Museum – the best museum most people never get to see.”The CIA will also post updates and important information from their “World Facebook”. This page will be a good source of information concerning unclassified histories and current topics.
In response to the CIA’s twitter account, one twitter user has remarked, “@CIA how does it feel to be followed for once?”
Photo: Twitter
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