Let’s Do Some Snooping on the CIA

The CIA’s official moto is: “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

Let’s take a moment or two to spy on the spies. Here are some of what our staff snooped up.

Let’s get to snooping…

• First off, there’s a Starbucks at the CIA headquarters in Langley, referred to as ‘Store Number 1’.
  • This is the only location employees are prohibited from asking for customers’ names to write on the cups.

Social Media and the CIA

• Your social media posts are being read by the CIA.
  • More than 5 million tweets are reportedly read by the agency each day.
    • We did some poking around the CIA’s Twitter account.
      • The CIA follows 33 Twitter accounts, among them: the Chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Australian Security Intelligence Organization, and the UK’s intelligence, security and cyber agency.

• CIA’s Instagram account
  • The CIA follows 35 Instagram accounts. Among those are the usual suspects: Dept of Defense, US Army, US Interior, NASA, and Depart of Veterans Affairs.
    • But then it gets kind of interesting, the CIA is also following the likes of Bryan Cranston, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Hanks, Melissa McCarthy, Jennifer Garner… oh, and 007.
• CIA’s Facebook page
  • We were hoping to find a Tik-Tok account for the CIA, but I guess that one’s classified.

The Freedom of Information Act

• The Freedom of Information Act released nearly 12 million documents that are available to anyone who wants to take the time to browse.
  • You can browse the collections here.
    • Here are some of our favorites:
      • CIA documents on Marilyn Monroe
      • Adolf Hitler
      • John Lennon
      • Allen Ginsberg
      • Ernest Hemingway

The CIA & Area 51

• The CIA acknowledged the existence of Area 51 in 2013.
  • Check out Area 51 here on Google Earth.

The CIA and Magicians

• A magician was hired by the CIA to train agents techniques in sleight of hand. They used the learned techniques to slip people LSD.

• Anderson Cooper trained with the CIA for two summers while in college.

The CIA and Torture

• Torture techniques were taught in a CIA handbook.
  • Psychological over physical torture was stressed.
    • People’s fear of pain is found to be greater than what would be experienced, so using psychological torture techniques is more effective than actual physical harm.

The CIA and Prostitutes

• Prostitutes were enlisted by the CIA in San Francisco to lure men to ‘safe houses’ where LSD would be slipped to them.
  • The program was referred to as “Operation Midnight Climax”.
    • The CIA agents would observe the drugged man and the prostitute engaging in sex through a 1-way mirror.

The CIA and Nazi War Criminals

• The CIA recruited Nazi war criminals after World War II.
  • They selected the Nazis with experience in mind control and brainwashing techniques to assist them with experiments they were conducting.

The CIA and Rock Music

• Music is a tool used by the CIA to torture prisoners and detainees.
  • Some music that has reportedly been used by the CIA are:
    • Red Hot Chili Peppers
    • Eminem
    • Metallica
• CIA keeps the number of their employees classified.

Well, that’s about wraps it up for this Wednesday’s Knowledge Shot. We’ve added a lot of interesting and fun links below. Hope you enjoy spying on the spies.

Check out the CIA headquarters and the CIA Museum here on Google Earth.

Awesome CIA Themed Movies

• The Bourne Identity
• The Bourne Supremacy
• The Bourne Ultimatum
• Enemy of the State
• Body of Lies

Fictional CIA Books

• The Hunt of the Red October by Tom Clancy
• Patriot Games by Tom Clancy
• The Bourne Identity By Robert Ludlum

Additional Resources

• Interested in applying to the CIA? Read up on the application process.
• Check out CIAAgentEDU.org, “an independent resource dedicated to helping the next generation of CIA professionals learn about the many fascinating jobs within the agency, and what it takes to qualify for these jobs.”