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Thursday, May 18, 2017, 14:36
MIT student sues CIA for info on Twitter jokes
By Associated Press
Thursday, May 18, 2017, 14:36 By Associated Press

The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is seen at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, April 13, 2016. (Saul Loeb / AFP)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A Massachusetts doctoral student is trying to force the CIA to open up about how it uses jokes on social media.

The CIA has been on Twitter since June 2014 when it tweeted, "We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet." It was a humorous nod to the agency's secrecy.

Now, Amy Johnson, a doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is suing the CIA for failing to turn over documents she requested under open records laws in 2015. She is seeking, among other things, any training documents regarding the use of social media.

Her lawsuit says the matter is important to study because it's rare for a federal agency, especially one with such serious duties, to employ humor in its public communications.


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