A year ago, in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations, Twitter exploded with countless @NSA derivative impersonator accounts, however not one of them belonged to the real NSA. Fast forward to June 6, 2014 when we learn that the one agency which until the arrival of the NSA on center stage, symbolized America's spycraft and shady government overthrow tactics, that would be the CIA of course, and which since the advent of the NSA has been relegated largely to B-grade spycraft status, has joined Twitter.
We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.
— CIA (@CIA) June 6, 2014 [6]
According to WaPo [7], "The Central Intelligence Agency is announcing today that it’s getting into the social media biz. “@CIA” will be its handle on Twitter, the short-attention-span platform with 255 million monthly active users, and it’ll also launch on Facebook.
The presence on these premier social media sites will supplement the CIA’s existing digital presence, which includes a Web site and Flickr and YouTube accounts. CIA Director John Brennan explained the move in a press release: “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.”
Don’t get too excited, however, about the level of detail in the tweets and Facebook posts. Though a press release on the new accounts says that the agency will post the “latest news, statements, and career information,” consider the order that came down from the director of national intelligence earlier this year. It stipulated a requirement that intelligence employees seek authorization before talking to the media about a broad basket of “intelligence-related information.”
Given such constraints, it’s a safe bet that the published information will go heavy on promotional fare. The press release notes that tweets will showcase “artifacts and other information from the CIA’s Museum — the best museum most people never get to see. CIA will also post updates and information from the Agency’s ‘World Factbook,’ a unique public resource and educational tool, as well as unclassified intelligence histories and other information.”
For those curious how the CIA get control of the @CIA handle, a department spokesperson says that "CIA filed an impersonation complaint with Twitter and they secured the @CIA account for us, which is routine for government agencies."
So while it is safe to say that just like the Fed's account on Twitter, so CIA's will also be exclusively a PR placeholder, if by any chance a 3rd party individual ends up being followed by the @CIA, it may be time to panic.