In 2011, the Central Intelligence Agency officially entered into the world of social media when it quietly opened an account on the popular photo-sharing site Flickr. Then, in 2013, the spy agency expanded its influence into the social networking sphere by establishing an identity on video-streaming juggernaut YouTube.
This month, the CIA boldly extended its reach into the social media space by launching presences on both Twitter and Facebook.
The agency made quite a splash on Twitter in particular on Friday when it sent out its very first tweet:
We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.
— CIA (@CIA) June 6, 2014
This tweet immediately garnered both attention and praise from Twitter users around the world, who expressed surprise that such a humorous comment could come from such a serious organization.
Naturally, Twitter users responded to the CIA’s first tweet with a comparable level of humor, snark and sarcasm. Below are some of the funniest and snarkiest comments from across the Twitterverse:
For the first time in history the CIA is only following 25 people. pic.twitter.com/othuOAMG2C
— NowThis News (@nowthisnews) June 6, 2014
.@CIA welcome! Always remember to ████████ and follow ██████████ he has amazing ██████████
— Billy Chasen (@billychasen) June 6, 2014
We can neither confirm nor deny that @CIA is a fan of Denny's. But we can assume.
— Denny's (@DennysDiner) June 6, 2014
MT @CIA Remember that time Teddy Roosevelt's grandson helped us launch a coup in Iran? #tbt pic.twitter.com/5zoI0tCXkU
— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) 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
People say Facebook got lame once your grandmother joined… don't know what to think about @CIA joining Twitter.
— Parker Higgins (@xor) June 6, 2014
What do you guys think is the CIA's funniest Twitter meme? I'm going with the 1973 Chilean coup.
— Ned Resnikoff (@resnikoff) June 6, 2014
Welcome to Twitter, @CIA. Now we can finally return the favor and follow you too.
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) June 6, 2014
Fire everyone. pic.twitter.com/Bh4qoR3KPO
— Choire (@Choire) June 6, 2014
The CIA has followed people for years. Now tweeple have a chance to follow @CIA
— Husain Haqqani (@husainhaqqani) June 6, 2014
Cool! The CIA just joined twitter and they already posted this selfie! pic.twitter.com/U0TYqPcSd0
— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) June 6, 2014
Pssst, @CIA you may want to look into this guy.
#tcot #uniteblue pic.twitter.com/YiumpFarYx
— Al Gorelioni (@Al_Gorelioni) June 6, 2014
Everyone give a big warm welcome to the @CIA pic.twitter.com/pSXdMoDOed
— Guardian Whiteboard (@gdnwhiteboard) June 6, 2014
.@CIA wheres that dang plane
— jonnifer lopez (@senderblock23) June 6, 2014
Would be great if @CIA put at least as much effort into following the law as they do into getting Twitter followers: http://t.co/GVXgykVXjz
— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) June 6, 2014
RT if you pretty much assume @CIA is following you no matter what Twitter says.
— Christopher Gorham (@ChrisGorham) June 6, 2014
.@CIA, welcome to Twitter. We've got a cold case that needs to be opened. pic.twitter.com/i7KDsw9nJB
— Miller Lite (@MillerLite) June 6, 2014
It had to be done #Merica @CIA pic.twitter.com/l3z863jNgT
— John F Kennedy (@_JohnFKennedy_) June 6, 2014
When @CIA slides into your DMs… pic.twitter.com/fQXafY7nsp
— Matt Christman (@cushbomb) June 6, 2014
I followed @CIA today the moment it went live. But I think they were already following me.
— Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) June 6, 2014
Hows the drug trafficking business? @CIA pic.twitter.com/y12xRbwE5U
— Charles Edward Frith (@charlesfrith) June 7, 2014
That hilarious first tweet by the @CIA totally makes up for all the abductions, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
— Koen Rouwhorst (@koenrh) June 7, 2014
For accuracy, we should change @cia twitter profile to say: "Followers: 524.7k, Following: Everybody".
— Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang) June 8, 2014
The @CIA is acting like they're new to Twitter. So cute.
— Dana Brunetti (@DanaBrunetti) June 8, 2014
The CIA sent out a subsequent tweet later in the day. Wikileaks by far had the best response:
Thank you for the @Twitter welcome! We look forward to sharing great #unclassified content with you.
— CIA (@CIA) June 7, 2014
@CIA We look forward to sharing great classified info about you http://t.co/QcdVxJfU4X https://t.co/kcEwpcitHo More: https://t.co/PEeUpPAt7F
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 7, 2014