It was revealed today that the CIA has a team of analysts devoted solely to monitoring social media across the globe. These “ninja librarians”
are mining the mass of information people publish about themselves overseas, tracking everything from common public opinion to revolutions.
The group’s effort gives the White House a daily snapshot of the world built from tweets, newspaper articles and Facebook updates. The agency’s Open Source Center sometimes looks at 5 million tweets a day. The analysts are also checking out TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms – anything overseas that people can access and contribute to openly.
Credit to the CIA for trying to keep abreast of fast-moving events by tracking these new media forms. Though I might suggest thinking twice before you tweet now. More on this new CIA facility here.