MIT student sues CIA for info on Twitter jokes

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 humour in its public communications.