The C.I.A. is down with the kids. Since 2014, the agency has been an active tweeter on social media, posting short bursts of light, humorous and self-referential content. 

In a fresh study, Rhys Crilley and Louise Pears have scrutinized the tweets and analyzed the humorous side of the agency that’s constructed.

The C.I.A. being active on Twitter is a natural continuum in the agency’s history of infiltrating itself into pop culture. In doing so, the agency can own parts of its narrative, thus hiding the darker corners of its actions.

Keywords: critical intelligence studies, discourse analysis, social media

• The article discussed in this episode

Crilley, R. & Pears, L. (2021), ‘No, we don’t know where Tupac is’: critical intelligence studies and the CIA on social media, Intelligence and National Security, p. 1–16.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2021.1893079

• The researchers featured in the episode

Rhys Crilley has been researching the use of social media in conflict: how different actors at war use Facebook in communicating what they are up to. Currently, his research focus is on nuclear weapons.

Louise Pears has a PhD in the representation of terrorism on television. Her scholarly interests are in popular culture and the understanding of everyday ideas about security among audiences.

• How to reach out

Dear listener, let me know what you think. For comments, feedback and suggestions on articles for future episodes, please reach out to me on Twitter @rasmuskyllonen or by dropping me a letter at rasmus.kyllonen@helsinki.fi.

• About the host

Rasmus is a master’s student at the University of Helsinki, where he is majoring in journalism and communication. Earlier, he worked as a journalist and graphic designer at various newspapers and magazines.

• Disclaimer

The articles showcased on Keywords are all published in scientific journals that have received an official classification (level 1, 2 or 3) by the Publication Forum. This means the publications are always peer-reviewed. For more information on the academic classification criteria: https://julkaisufoorumi.fi/en/evaluations/classification-criteria

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