Wikileaks Welcomes CIA to Twitter by Taking a Dig at Spy Agency

Wikileaks has taken a dig at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States shortly after the spy organisation joined Twitter and Facebook.

The agency, which keeps a close watch on social media to gather intelligence information, has officially descended into cyberspace by opening accounts at both the social media platforms.

In typical fashion, the agency sent out its first Twitter message at about 18:00 GMT: "We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet."

The agency already possesses official accounts on YouTube and Flickr.

The Twitter account quickly garnered followers and in less than 90 minutes the CIA had more than 80,000 followers.

"By expanding to these platforms (Facebook and Twitter), CIA will be able to more directly engage with the public and provide information on CIA's mission, history, and other developments," CIA director John Brennan said.

His statement added: "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."

In its second tweet, the CIA said: "Thank you for the @Twitter welcome! We look forward to sharing great #unclassified content with you."

For which, the whistleblower organisation Wikileaks replied: "@CIA we look forward to sharing great classified info about you," along with links to CIA-related revelations in the Wikileaks website.

Others have also taken the opportunity to make fun of the CIA joining the social media club.

"The CIA's first Tweet would be funny if it weren't for the agency's use of torture and extrajudicial executions. They should put as least as much effort into following the law as they do into social media. The full truth about the CIA torture and drone strikes should be made public immediately and those responsible for crimes held accountable," said Zeke Johnson, director of Amnesty International USA's security and human rights programme, in a statement.