CIA ‘live-tweets’ raid that killed bin Laden — 5 years later
Navy SEALS may have killed Osama bin Laden in a raid five years ago Sunday, but anyone following the CIA on Twitter might think it all just happened. In a deeply bizarre socialmarketing move Sunday, the agency “live-tweeted” the raid that led to bin Laden’s death, only it did so five years later.
For anyone who might not be familiar with the term “live-tweeting” — an audience that may include the CIA — it refers to the act of reporting something on Twitter as it happens in real time. Sure, by its very nature, that sometimes includes a short lag time. Maybe a few seconds. In this case, it was five years.
“The takedown of bin Laden stands as one of the great intelligence successes of all time. History has been a key element of CIA’s social media efforts,” CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said, according to ABC. “On the fifth anniversary, it is appropriate to remember the day and honor all those who had a hand in this achievement.”
Not many fans
It began around 1 p.m. on Sunday, when the agency released this tweet: “To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today. #UBLRaid.”
Then, for most of the day, the CIA tweeted out events from that day with time stamps, following through on the announcement — it depicted the events as if they were happening Sunday. The tweets were connected with the hashtag #UBLRaid and the event concluded at 4:01 p.m. Central time (though the last tweet had a 6:01 p.m. time stamp).
“3:39 pm EDT — Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed #UBLRaid.”
Some praised the agency for commemorating the event. “5 years ago at this exact moment, staying up past my bed time had never been so worth it,” Davis Barlow tweeted.
More, though, seemed to be criticizing the agency. Je- zebel called the stunt “both bizarre and extremely tone deaf.” Many others took to Twitter, using the agency’s hashtag, to express their discontent.
Tweeted Phillip Carter: “I get CIA desire to take victory lap but tweeting #UBLRaid seems contrary to Intel Community ethos & good judgment.”
The CIA’s Twitter account has long been a hotbed of controversy. From its inception in 2014, when it tweeted, “We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet,” the CIA Twitter feed has been criticized for its tone by various outlets.
“They should put at least as much effort into following the law as they do into social media,” Am- nesty International program director Zeke Johnson told The Verge after the agency posted that first tweet.
Part of the job?
About a month after the agency’s first tweet in mid-2014, the Guardian newspaper published an opinion piece by a former CIA employee arguing the agency shouldn’t be on Twitter in the first place.
“Ridiculously gl i b tweets from the CIA paint the entire agency in a smug light, which is exactly the persona it so badly needs to avoid,” the piece read. “The CIA knows what everyone else knows: it’s in desperate need of a makeover. We haven’t forgotten about Benghazi or torture, and painfully awkward tweets — like watching-yourdad-dance- t o- CeeL o- atyour-wedding awkward — won’t make the CIA appear soft and fuzzy, just woefully disconnected from reality. The CIA does not need to be on Twitter, because it can’t be transparent.”
Still, the account boasted 1.33 million followers as of Sunday’s bin Laden commemoration.
The CIA defends its Twitter presence, arguing that it’s a means of reaching people who otherwise wouldn’t be interested in the agency.
CIA spokesman Preston Golson told NextGov last fall that the social team’s responsibility is to “explain as much as we can about our mission to the public.”