Say Anything Blog

Weird…

Jan. 27, 2007 — With millions online sharing information at the speed of light, the Internet would seem no place for secrets.

But now, one of the most secretive employers in the world is reaching out to potential recruits through Facebook, a networking Web site popular among college students.

Since December, the Central Intelligence Agency has advertised its National Clandestine Service, a department that oversees all human espionage operations, by hosting a “Facebook Careers” group.

Michelle Neff, a spokeswoman for the CIA, said the Internet is just the wide net the agency needs for recruiting candidates with “a broad skills set.”

“Facebook is a very good peer-to-peer marketing tool,” she added.

In 2004, President Bush mandated a 50 percent increase in the CIA’s work force, part of his post-9/11 reforms.

The CIA once relied only on print ads. But Facebook is just its latest effort to reach a younger audience.

The “CIA is advertising broadly,” Neff said, “expanding to TV, movie trailers, airports, billboards, [and] soon will be heard on radio” as well.

How strange it will be to see a television commercial, let alone a billboard or a trailer at the local movie theater, advertising for spies.