display
Official authorities usually cannot really get used to social media.
For example, most German ministries are represented on Twitter or Facebook, but what is posted there is often not really up-to-date.
A little too formal.
An authentic and contemporary social media presence has to be all the more difficult for a domestic secret service.
After all, work is done there under lock and key - for the safety of the population.
Nevertheless, the British security service MI5 has decided to become active on Instagram.
With the official account @ mi5official you can get a glimpse of the work of the secret service.
Quasi in the service of Her Majesty.
Most of you are familiar with the UK's domestic intelligence service from the films about its most famous fictional agent: James Bond, Agent 007.
Author Ian Flaming's fictional character is one of the reasons MI5 is now sharing photos on Instagram.
Daniel Craig (r.) As James Bond and Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann in a scene from the movie "Specter" (2015).
Source: pa / dpa / Sony
Because more and more Brits imagine the work of agents and officials to be quite glamorous: sipping martini, wild adventures and women’s stories.
The agency now wants to show that this has little to do with reality via its Instagram account - and finally clear up Martini clichés, as Director General Ken McCallum told the British newspaper Daily Telegraph:
We need to break all stereotypes about drinking martini by conveying a little more of what today's MI5 actually is.
Ken McCallum, general manager of the Security Service
display
With its presence in social networks, the secret service wants to ensure transparency - of course, without revealing too much internal information.
A bit of a dilemma, as McCallum explains: "Our ability to serve the public and protect the country depends crucially on acting undercover." On the other hand, it would be fatal to isolate yourself completely from the public, as you would gain the trust of the Citizens in the country are losing.
MI5 wants to share agent experiences on Instagram and provide information about career opportunities.
In addition to the plan to finally do away with the James Bond image, the agency also wants to advertise its own cause on the new account: A job at security should include questions to real MI5 agents and insights into the more than 112-year-old archive Service, especially for younger people, will become sexy again.
Even without a martini.
Much of what we do has to remain invisible, but what we are doesn't have to be.
Indeed, opening up is key to our future success.
Ken McCallum, head of MI5
display
The first post from the secret service shows the view through the glass dome at the London headquarters.
Below you can read: “The secret to successful spying?
Look at all angles. ”With typical British humor, the agency's Instagram users are welcome to write a message as to why the MI5 should follow them.
However, if you want to give the secret service a serious tip, you should contact the authority via the official website.
MI5 is not the first secret service in a country to be active on social media.
The headquarters of the Security Service in London
Source: Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Loop Images
The CIA, the US foreign intelligence service, has been on Twitter since 2014.
The authority is followed there by more than 3.2 million subscribers.
Since last year she can also be found on Instagram.
On the Instagram profile you can get an impression of how the MI5 might present itself in the future: with anonymized agents who talk about their jobs and official info posts about the work of the secret service.
The Federal Intelligence Service has not yet seen any point in opening an official Instagram or Facebook account.
Only the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is also one of the news services in Germany, has a Twitter account - but only around 28,000 users follow it there.
And how do you find the move by the UK domestic secret service to provide insights into its everyday life via social media? Would that also be something for the German intelligence services? Let us know what you think in the comments.