{"id":7934,"date":"2019-07-11T17:27:45","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T17:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=7934"},"modified":"2020-06-09T15:05:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T15:05:15","slug":"internal-dia-e-mails-reveal-embarrassment-and-internal-struggle-behind-accidental-classy-as-always-china-tweet-in-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/internal-dia-e-mails-reveal-embarrassment-and-internal-struggle-behind-accidental-classy-as-always-china-tweet-in-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Internal DIA E-mails Reveal Embarrassment and Internal Struggle Behind Accidental “Classy as always China” Tweet in 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

by John Greenewald, Jr. – The Black Vault<\/p>\n

In a newly released set of e-mails by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), it’s revealed that the agency worked quickly, but struggled, to get ahead of the reporting when an embarrassing tweet was sent out by one of their employees.\u00a0\u00a0On September 3, 2016, the DIA’s official Twitter account tweeted out a New York Times article, with the headline “Heated Words and Awkward Surprises After Air Force One Lands in China.” In this article, the NY Times profiles an “awkward” situation unfolded when Air Force One landed in China for the G-20 summit:<\/p>\n

“On the Chinese tarmac, an angry exchange between a security official and White House aides, and a challenge to President Obama\u2019s national security adviser.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Attached to the article, the DIA tweeted seemingly their own take, which simply read: “Classy as always China.”\u00a0 This was immediately retweeted by many quick to see the message within the Twitterverse, but shortly after it was sent, the message was deleted by the DIA. An apology was posted within hours on the same official account for the DIA explaining that the tweet was not their position.<\/p>\n

It is unclear how many the “Classy as always China” tweet reached initially, but internal e-mails released under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal by The Black Vault reveal not only the extreme embarrassment within the agency, but also the immediate effort to address the issue.<\/p>\n

One email, from an unknown (redacted) DIA staffer said, “[Redacted], sorry to bother you. We’ve had an unfortunate incident on Twitter. [Redacted] mistakenly released a personal tweet from our official account. It has been removed but it was retweeted a number of times and few folks did a screen capture of the tweet.”\u00a0 Another email also referenced the immediate deletion, but expressed the concern, “…nothing is ever truly deleted from the Internet.”<\/p>\n

What followed was a back and forth between multiple, redacted, DIA staffers and employees crafting a response.\u00a0 A debate ensued internally whether the apology should be vague, as to not bring more attention to their blunder, or reference it directly so the public did not try to fabricate a new story.\u00a0 “…it will only be relevant to those that saw the earlier tweet, which was deleted. It could draw extra attention, but it also will be better than letting the Internet make up their own explanation,” said one DIA staffer. A response to that message from an unknown (redacted) employee, which came within three minutes, asked, “Could you address it without repeating it?”<\/p>\n

The debate went on through multiple emails, with the biggest struggle being Twitter’s character count limitation and the question of whether they should bring more unwanted attention to the mistake. Ultimately, the DIA tweeted the following:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Earlier today, a tweet regarding a news article was mistakenly posted from this account & does not represent the views of DIA. We apologize.<\/p>\n

\u2014 DIA (@DefenseIntel) September 4, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n