The Central Intelligence Agency just joined Twitter and Facebook, and, naturally, people reacted in all kinds of ways to the agency's first tweet.
We'd make fun of the CIA for being so behind the times, but something tells us that officials and other government intelligence agents (*cough* NSA *cough*) know more about the Twittersphere than they let on.
Here's that tweet, which has already been retweeted more than 61,000 times and favorited around 30,000.
We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.— CIA (@CIA) June 6, 2014
"Follow us on Twitter @CIA and on Facebook for the latest CIA updates, #tbt (Throwback Thursday) photos, reflections on intelligence history, and fun facts from the CIA World Factbook," the agency said in a statement on its website. The CIA is already on Flickr and YouTube.
That phrase--"we can neither confirm nor deny"-- has become synonymous with the agency's communications with the public, so it seems a fitting first tweet. It dates back to 1976, when the CIA refused to acknowledge the existence of a project to raise a sunken Soviet Union submarine from the Pacific Ocean.
Journalist Harriet Ann Phillippi filed a Freedom of Information Act request to try to get details about the program, but was met with that now infamous response.
Below are some of the best Twitter reactions to the CIA's announcement.
.@CIA welcome! Always remember to ████████ and follow ██████████ he has amazing ██████████— Billy Chasen (@billychasen) June 6, 2014
welcome to twitter, culinary institute of america — Alex Fitzpatrick (@AlexJamesFitz) June 6, 2014
Easily derived from metadata. RT @CIA: We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.— matt blaze (@mattblaze) June 6, 2014
MT @CIA [redacted]— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) June 6, 2014
The @CIA is on Twitter but they've been following you your whole life. Happy Friday! http://t.co/x3nOSEF6di— Digg (@digg) June 6, 2014
Now what would be really funny is if the @CIA account started following @Angela_Merkel— Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 6, 2014
kind of dreading @CIA’s #tbt tweets tbh— darth™ (@darth) June 6, 2014
Seriously doubt the @CIA is only following 25 people.— Jason Gay (@jasonWSJ) June 6, 2014
Here’s hoping the new @CIA twitter account does an #askCIA hashtag. I mean, what could go wrong?— Andy Carvin (@acarvin) June 6, 2014
Hey, guys. Knock if off. The @CIA is here now. (crickets)— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) June 6, 2014
CIA to post highly, highly unclassified stuff on Twitter, Facebook: http://t.co/bKPUEim8es— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) June 6, 2014
Here's hoping the new @CIA twitter feed doesn't immediately follow several hundred previously anonymous Americans living abroad.— Andrew Das (@AndrewDasNYT) June 6, 2014
Really can’t imagine anything more terrifying than getting a notification that the @CIA is following you— Seth Fiegerman (@sfiegerman) June 6, 2014
Would never find us there, that’s for sure. RT @KevinDeShazo: Now that the CIA is on Twitter, it's time for us to move this party to Google+— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) June 6, 2014
Welcome to Twitter! Can't wait to work with you on [REDACTED] :-) RT @CIA: We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.— NGA (@NGA_GEOINT) June 6, 2014