CIA joins Twitter with humorous tweet

USPA News - The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) joined the social networking websites Twitter and Facebook on Friday and quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of followers, but the U.S. spy agency could neither confirm nor deny that it had tweeted before. The agency, which already maintained accounts on Flickr and YouTube, said it hoped to more directly engage with the public and provide information on the CIA`s mission.

Its partner agency, the National Security Agency (NSA), which has endured much criticism over the past year in the wake of revelations about the U.S. government`s secret surveillance programs, was already on Twitter. "We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet," the CIA said in its first tweet on Friday. The humorous tweet was highly praised by many Twitter users and received nearly 160,000 retweets within hours. The CIA account (@CIA) itself, which has been verified by Twitter, had already garnered close to 230,000 followers. In comparison, the Twitter account of the NSA`s public affairs office (@NSA_PAO) has gathered only 11,668 followers since joining the social networking website in December 2013. "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," said CIA Director John Brennan. "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." On Facebook (facebook.com/Central.Intelligence.Agency), the CIA shared a blog post on the occasion of D-Day, highlighting the fact that American spy Virginia Hall played an important role during the Allied invasion of Normandy. "Today we honor the brave Americans who fought and served on this day in history," the Facebook post said. The CIA said that in addition to posting news and statements, it will also post memorable photos every Thursday (Throwback Thursday), reflect on the history of intelligence agencies, "fun facts" from the CIA`s World Factbook, and glimpse into the CIA`s Museum. News about career opportunities will also be posted.