National Security Agencywhistleblower Edward Snowden joined Twitter today. Snowden, the American former CIA and government contract employee who leaked classified information about global surveillance from the NSA in 2013, sent his first tweet Tuesday afternoon. Snowden escaped the country before leaking the info and now lives in Russia. <\/p>\n
Can you hear me now? <\/p>\n
The account was verified and confirmed by Twitter, with the companys own co-founder Jack Dorsey welcoming him to the platform. <\/p>\n
Yes! Welcome to Twitter. https:\/\/t.co\/gUBQpET6Gg<\/a> <\/p>\n Within the first 15 minutes of his first tweet, Snowdenhad garnered more than 30,000 new followers. <\/p>\n In less than an hour, @Snowden has already piled up more Twitter followers than his (ahem) former employer, @NSAGov. <\/p>\n Its still unclear how Snowden plans to use Twitter, but his lawyer tells The Intercept that he plans to control the account himself. <\/p>\n \"According to Snowden's lawyer, Ben Wizner of the ACLU, @Snowden himself will be controlling the account.\" http:\/\/t.co\/S91IjPhRNN<\/a> <\/p>\n It is interesting to note that as of about 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday,Snowden only follows one other user the NSA's official account. <\/p>\n Troll so hard... pic.twitter.com\/UQscqXlzFj <\/p>\n A few Twitter users, Mashables Brian Ries and TODAY Shows Anthony Quintano had a few words of advice for Snowden as he enters the fray of Twitter that can, at times, be a little unkind. <\/p>\n @Snowden hello! pro tip: don't read the mentions. <\/p>\n Hey @Snowden, protip: don't geotag your tweets. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n