Neil deGrasse Tyson welcomes Edward Snowden to Twitter: "Feeling a geek vibe"

His first follow? The NSA

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published September 29, 2015 4:59PM (EDT)

(AP)
(AP)

Two years since leaking classified information about the NSA’s global surveillance programs, Edward Snowden joined Twitter -- and promptly followed the NSA.

So far, the federal intelligence agency is Snowden's only follow. His bio reads: “I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public. Director at @FreedomofPress."

Snowden's first tweet has already racked up nearly 20,000 retweets in under an hour:

And after receiving a warm online welcome from Neil deGrasse Tyson, Snowden joked about making his escape to Mars:

Snowden's Twitter account has 130,000 followers at last check.

Edward Snowden Makes Chilling Point About Government Surveillance


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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Aol_on Edward Snowden Neil Degrasse Tyson Nsa Twitter