The CIA Joins Twitter, Jokingly Refuses To Confirm First Tweet

America’s spy agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, has joined Twitter — and proven it has a sense of humor right from the start. For its first tweet, the CIA joked it could neither confirm or deny that it was making its first tweet: We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet. […]

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CIA__CIA__on_Twitter

America’s spy agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, has joined Twitter — and proven it has a sense of humor right from the start.

For its first tweet, the CIA joked it could neither confirm or deny that it was making its first tweet:

According to Google, “Molly Hale” had the account as of June 1, and it was protected:

Molly_Hale__CIA__on_Twitter

“Molly Hale” is the CIA’s official public voice, so it seems likely the CIA has had the Twitter account for some time but not used it. Now that the account has been opened to tweeting, Molly Hale is gone. And yes, we know it really is the CIA because Twitter has given it a verified icon.

If you’re wondering who the CIA is spying upon, by tracking them through an old-school method called “Following” on Twitter, the CIA follows 25 accounts at the moment, including:

  • The FBI
  • The DEA
  • NSA
  • The US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps & Army
  • Twitter Government
  • DARPA
  • The NSA
  • The White House

In 2012, after a fake CIA account turned up on Twitter, the CIA told the Washington Post that for the time being, it prefered to keep its thoughts to itself rather than tweet. Said a spokesperson then:

We prefer to keep our daily musings to ourselves. Perhaps someday you’ll be able to read official Tweets from Langley, but until then, people can do the old-fashioned thing and check out our Web page.



Looks like that day has finally come.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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