Social Media and U.S. Intelligence Agencies: Just Trending or a Real Tool to Engage and Educate?

Authors

Michael Landon-Murray, University of Colorado, Colorado SpringsFollow

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.8.3S.1476

Abstract

Social media use has become ubiquitous not just among individuals, groups, and businesses, but also government institutions. In turn, the adoption of services like Facebook and Twitter in the public sector has increasingly become the focus of academic study. U.S. intelligence agencies, however, have been excluded from examination. The potential benefits—engagement, education, and transparency, among others—are significant, and studying how U.S. intelligence uses social media will help us realize those benefits. In the arcane, complex and potentially intrusive world of intelligence, new opportunities to bolster public knowledge and accountability must be utilized. Today, understanding government requires studying e-government, and in intelligence, social media likely represents the most direction connection between citizens and the public agencies that serve them. To take a first step, this study maps how U.S. intelligence agencies are using Facebook and Twitter, examines other social media practices, and presents findings from correspondence with four intelligence and security journalists.

Recommended Citation

Landon-Murray, Michael. "Social Media and U.S. Intelligence Agencies: Just Trending or a Real Tool to Engage and Educate?" Journal of Strategic Security 8, no. 3 Suppl. (2015): 67-79.