Snowden Tweets
Updated on Tuesday at 6:05 pm EST
As we noted in our news roundup, the former NSA contractor joined Twitter today. Snowden’s first tweet—at least his first one after he fled the U.S. with classified material to Russia via Hong Kong—was retweeted nearly 46,000 times at the time of this writing.
Snowden appears to be natural at Twitter, as this conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson shows:
Can you hear me now?
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 29, 2015
Feeling a Geek vibe. Edward @Snowden, the man behind the global mass surveillance revelations. Welcome to @twitter.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 29, 2015
Ed @Snowden, If you visit Mars, I'd bet any life forms there will greet you with a sip of that water -- and a tourist visa.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 29, 2015
.@neiltyson Surveillance never sleeps, and secret projects @FreedomofPress are keeping me busy, but I still find time for cat pictures.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 29, 2015
Ed @Snowden, many call you Hero, others Traitor. Whatever else you are, you’re a Geek to me. What do you say to those labels?
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 29, 2015
.@neiltyson, @DanielEllsberg told me #labels never stopped progress. Neither in 1776 nor today. [2/2] pic.twitter.com/CzRZ6ur6xc
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 29, 2015
.@neiltyson Stay free.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 29, 2015
Snowden, I should also point out, follows one other Twitter account, @NSAGov.
Meanwhile, a thousand people at Fort Meade just opened Twitter.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 29, 2015
Update: The former governor of New York isn’t a fan:
Some say you have courage, I saw real courage on #Sept11 You are just a traitor who put American lives at risk. https://t.co/RRWtmMzyxE
— George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) September 29, 2015 .@Twitter is a great American company that should not give a platform to terrorists or traitors - @Jack shutdown @Snowden today.
— George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) September 29, 2015 Not a traitor who put Americans at risk, hides in Russia and belongs behind bars. https://t.co/LMXVLjta1B
— George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) September 29, 2015 Hi, I'm running for President. My support in all polls is an asterisk. And I'm here to say who should & shouldn't be allowed on Twitter.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 29, 2015