To mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, the CIA Monday “live-tweeted” the special forces raid on the al-Qaeda leader’s compound in Pakistan — a move that was slammed on social media as “inappropriate” and “distasteful.”
“Death of Usama Bin Ladin marked significant victory in US-led campaign to disrupt, dismantle, & defeat al-Qa`ida. #UBLRaid,” the CIA, using an alternate spelling of the terror leader’s name, wrote on Twitter. They then commenced a minute-by-minute chronicle of the mission.
Here are a few examples:
1:25 pm EDT-@POTUS, DCIA Panetta, & JSOC commander Admiral McRaven approve execution of op in Abbottabad.#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/YhvuJVrMVc
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:39 pm EDT – Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
— Joe (@Brikka23) May 1, 2016
Daring #UBLRaid was an IC team effort & in close collaboration with our military partners.https://t.co/rklCIRLlgF pic.twitter.com/xZObdGeqPR
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
Unsurprisingly, the internet didn’t react well. Many social media users denounced the stunt as a case of poor taste.
This @cia 's social media campaign is serioulsy inappropriate… and I'll leave it at that. pic.twitter.com/KgzifdjVk7
— Liri Andersson (@liriandersson) May 2, 2016
@CIA You've lost the plot mate
— Luke O'Neil (@lukeoneil47) May 1, 2016
Others wondered if the agency would live-tweet other historic events.
Looking forward to the @cia "live-tweeting" the Bay of Pigs invasion on its anniversary.
— Jack Shafer (@jackshafer) May 1, 2016
And some questioned the agency’s public relations strategy.
The @CIA has some strange ideas about how to do PR on Twitter.
— James Cline (@lenish) May 2, 2016
Wish I was at the meeting where the @CIA decided this was a good idea https://t.co/dFSaEwdN8f
— Mani Gandham (@ManiGandham) May 1, 2016
.@CIA pic.twitter.com/fVTpRJapcD
— Freddie Campion (@FreddieCampion) May 1, 2016
A CIA spokesperson defended the live-tweeting.
“The takedown of bin Laden stands as one of the great intelligence successes of all time. History has been a key element of CIA’s social media efforts,” CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani told ABC News.
“On the fifth anniversary, it is appropriate to remember the day and honor all those who had a hand in this achievement.”
He added that the CIA has done a similar exercise to mark other events, including the Glomar operation, Argo, U-2 shootdown, and the evacuation of Saigon.
This article originally appeared on CNBC.com.
Arjun Kharpal