Clowns join twitter [publicly]

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/441480-inside-the-secret-world-of-the-cias-social-media-team

A government agency known for its secrecy is making a splash in a very public forum: Twitter.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been raising eyebrows with its increasingly conversational and pop culture-filled social media presence, in recent months giving shout-outs to hit Hollywood films, game show hosts and other buzzy bits. And just last week, the agency added an Instagram account to its growing social shop. “We’re trying to be as transparent as possible with the constraints that the CIA currently has,” agency press secretary Timothy Barrett says. Tweeting to the world isn’t exactly cloak-and-dagger, and the aim for a public face is an undertaking that has unique quirks at one of the most secure places on the planet. But when ITK wanted to know how the social media sausage was made, to our surprise, Barrett invited us to Langley, Va., to speak with the some of the secretive squad about how the CIA gets its message out online. After leaving all electronic devices in the car — nothing, not even a Fitbit, is allowed in its headquarters — ITK prepared to meet a hush-hush band of CIA social media mavens and maestros. But rather than a tight-lipped team decked out in trench coats and sunglasses, what we found was a rather ordinary crew cranking away in an otherwise normal-looking office.

“We don’t do social media like most people do,” says Amanda, the social media lead at the CIA, who, like most of the behind-the-scenes team, declines to give her last name for security reasons.

In a strictly classified CIA world, how does the agency toe the line on a platform such as Twitter, that’s known for its oversharing? Well, that’s kind of classified. “We’re never going to be see-through as a secret organization,” Barrett says with a laugh, “but we do use Twitter as a tool for approaching transparency.”