The CIA drew a hail of ridicule and incomprehension when it unexpectedly posted a Twitter thread dedicated to the hit superhero film ‘Black Panther’. Some Twitter users even suspected the spy agency had been hacked.
The Central Intelligence Agency’s Twitter account launched into the bizarre thread during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, quizzing their 2.5 million followers on all things Wakanda – the fictional, high-tech, African country in the Marvel movie.
The agency announced that they had enlisted the help of a mysterious “top CIA scientist” named “Rebecca” to discuss Wakanada’s technological advances and the feasibility of translating them to real life.
Over a series of more than a dozen tweets, the account polled its followers on what they think “vibranium” is – the fictional metal that appears in the movie. Before pointing out the obvious – “it isn’t real” – and lamenting that vibranium would make great suits for “spies.”
The strange discussion then ventured further into spy territory (which, while still weird, is at least more in keeping with the agency’s ‘brand’) with a poll asking which of the Wakandan technologies would be most beneficial to “real-world spies.”
Are they actually looking for ideas? Have we stumbled into a CIA focus group? Are we all being tricked? At this point, who knows. Confused Twitter users questioned many things about the thread – most of all how the agency has nothing more pressing for their “top CIA scientist” to do than post tweets about a movie.
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Sceptical Twitter users questioned the agency’s motives for the bizarre series of polls. Some accused them of trying to appear more “relatable” in an effort to spruce up its public image.
Others thought this was just another way for the agency to control the public, particularly black people, by reminding them that Wakanda is an unattainable dream and African-Americans are a minority in the US.
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