# CIA and FBI embedded at social media firms

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "CIA and FBI embedded at social media firms," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-fbi-social-media-embed/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's claim, citing the Twitter Files, that active-duty CIA and FBI officers were placed undercover inside Twitter, Facebook and other platforms — which he argues can only mean they were spying on Americans.*

- **Source (per Kiriakou):** The Twitter Files (Matt Taibbi)
- **Kiriakou's read:** Domestic spying

**CIA and FBI embedded at social media firms** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s claim, drawn from the Twitter Files that Matt Taibbi exposed, that active-duty CIA and FBI officers were placed — often undercover — inside Twitter, Facebook and other social-media platforms.[1] He asks why active-duty officers would hold such positions and answers that there can be only one reason: *"Because they're spying on Americans."*[2] In a fuller telling, Kiriakou says Taibbi's reporting, done just after Musk bought Twitter, found active-duty CIA and FBI officers working at the company, and that active-duty CIA, FBI and possibly NSA personnel were later found embedded at Facebook and Google as well.[3]

## The revolving door and national security letters

Kiriakou says national security letters — used by the FBI to compel information from tech companies without a warrant — are often received and processed by former FBI and CIA personnel who now work at those same tech companies via the revolving door. *"If you follow the revolving door between FBI, CIA, and big tech, that's where they go to cash out."*[4]

## See also

- [Operation Mockingbird](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/operation-mockingbird)
- [Mass Surveillance](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/mass-surveillance)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou: The CIA's Tortures and Crimes (2025-12-08), at 31:48. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qVZ2KGc9-g&t=1908s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-12-08-judging-freedom-cia-tortures-and-crimes/
2. John Kiriakou: The CIA's Tortures and Crimes (2025-12-08), at 32:19. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qVZ2KGc9-g&t=1939s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-12-08-judging-freedom-cia-tortures-and-crimes/
3. Spy vs Spy — Ep 959 (2026-01-26), at 45:18. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLD02oLoGHU&t=2718s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-26-tin-foil-hat-w-sam-tripoli/
4. The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & (2026-03-10), at 56:11. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B70u_5YXNk&t=3371s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-10-former-congressman-matt-ga/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia-fbi-social-media-embed/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt