“A pretty face can hide an evil mind,” goes the swinging 60’s hit song Secret Agent Man. Now, the CIA is taking that idea to a new level with bizarre tweets during the Academy Awards. CNN called it “the coolest thing,” but will this keep Americans from seeing what’s hidden in plain view?
Ratings for the Oscars rebounded from its 2018 low, and it looks like the Central Intelligence Agency is hoping to revamp its image as well. While the CIA has been on Twitter since 2014, its account is increasingly engaging with users, especially during the top annual red carpet Hollywood spectacular on Sunday.
The CIA tweeted about how “great for spies” it would be if the fictitious high tech in Black Panther were real. For example, the Panther Habit suit (which CNN called a habitat) that changes form by using artificially intelligent nano-particles. The CIA fantasized that they could “foil surveillance” with such technology. No offer was extended to those of us supposedly covered by the Fourth Amendment.
The timing of this playful propaganda is probably not an accident. From drone wars to overthrows of foreign heads of state, this past decade has not been so secretive for the agency. Social media has certainly played a role in lifting the mask off this arm of the deep state. So, the CIA should become more active than less, as issues like US intervention in Venezuela animate the crowded Democratic presidential primary campaign.
To maximize this effort, what if instead of questioning the Trump administration’s policies under CIA Director Gina Haspel or her predecessor Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, wouldn’t it be “the coolest thing” if CNN highlighted how fun the CIA can be and, in fact, is?
And CNN wasn’t alone in showcasing the CIA’s quizzes and games played with Twitter users. The true experts of cool at Vice News were totally into it, but like only ironically. Duh. “Apologies to whatever CIA social media intern had to sacrifice their Sunday for this,” they lamented.
Nowhere in these “reports” is there mention of the atrocities waged and directed by the CIA. Not “politically incorrect” enough for the new breed of bleeding hearts on the SJW left. Checking your privilege isn’t necessary when the privilege is ordering secret airstrikes in Afghanistan or deposing governments in Ukraine or Libya, or attempting to in Syria.
This year should be one where the CIA faces more scrutiny than ever.
Journalist Stephen Kinzer, who’s written extensively about the CIA’s anti-constitutional origin and history, has a new book on Project MK-ULTRA entitled Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control, due out in September.
Hawaiian Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic presidential primary contender, has for years routinely targeted the CIA by name in her condemnation of US intervention.
Don’t expect the CIA to tweet about them. And don’t count on the mainstream media to tell the truth about the CIA’s relation to Americans and their liberty.
Image credit: Prayitno
Sign in with Email