The CIA sent an internal email to staff warning them not to post anything political on social media after a senior analyst shared a pro-Palestinian picture on Facebook. A U.S. official told NBC News that the email was just a reminder of the agency’s existing policy.
CIA officers are committed to analytic objectivity, which is at the core of what we do as an Agency. CIA officers may have personal views, but this does not lessen their — or CIA’s — commitment to unbiased analysis.
CIA Spokesperson
The CIA’s warning came after its deputy director for analysis posted an image of a man waving a Palestinian flag that has been used in various reports criticizing Israel’s role in the violence in the Middle East.
A person familiar with the situation told the Financial Times, who first broke the story, the senior analyst has not been disciplined and they have “extensive background in all aspects of the Middle East,” adding the post was “not intended to express a position on the conflict.” The person went on to say that this senior staffer has also posted messages condemning antisemitism to their social media.
“CIA officers are committed to analytic objectivity, which is at the core of what we do as an Agency,” a CIA spokesperson said in a reported statement. “CIA officers may have personal views, but this does not lessen their — or CIA’s — commitment to unbiased analysis.”
Still, the post follows division in the federal government over the Biden administration’s handling of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, which killed 1,200 people.
According to NBC News and Quinnipiac University polling, Biden’s approval rating has hit a record low with 70% of voters between the ages of 18 and 34 disapproving of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
