Tweets, Facebook help CIA build word picture

 

Dozier, K. (2011, November 5). Tweets, Facebook help CIA build world picture. Anchorage Daily News, p. A1.

The topic of this article is the CIA Open Source Center’s use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to track events and trends around the world.  The author’s purpose for writing this article is to inform the public about this new tool the government uses to monitor emerging international news and measure the effectiveness of American foreign policy.  The article claims that social media has changed the political and informational landscape in the Middle East.  For example, the CIA knew through their monitoring of social media that the uprising is Egypt was coming, but they were powerless to do anything about it.  Even though Internet access is still limited in some poor nations; the CIA has a powerful new information gathering tool that rivals traditional methods.  Dozier supports her claims with current case studies and interviews with the CIA Open Source Center Director Doug Naquin and a CIA spokesperson, who assures us that this technology is not beings used to spy on Americans.  The article demonstrates that Facebook and Twitter are key resources for following fast-moving crises and news around the world.