--- title: Edward Snowden Joins Twitter description: Edward Snowden joins Twitter. The best and funniest reactions canonical: https://time.com/4054441/edward-snowden-twitter/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-29T18:44:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:00.262Z og:title: Here's How Edward Snowden Was Welcomed on Twitter og:description: Edward Snowden joins Twitter. The best and funniest reactions og:url: https://time.com/4054441/edward-snowden-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64c75f253727a844/698860c4524fc06f46df4366/gettyimages-170248179.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Edward Snowden Speaks To The Guardian og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How Edward Snowden Was Welcomed on Twitter twitter:description: Edward Snowden joins Twitter. The best and funniest reactions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64c75f253727a844/698860c4524fc06f46df4366/gettyimages-170248179.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How Edward Snowden Was Welcomed on Twitter ## Video: Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden [Watch (HLS stream): Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2013-12-11. TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 29, 2015 6:44 PM UTC  Edward Snowden in 2013. Edward Snowden in 2013.Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Sep 29, 2015 6:44 PM UTC Whistleblower Edward Snowden joined Twitter Tuesday with the handle [@Snowden](https://twitter.com/Snowden) and a profile that reads “I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public. Director at [@FreedomofPress](https://twitter.com/FreedomofPress).” He is only following one other account: the National Security Agency ([@NSAGov](https://twitter.com/NSAGov)) — which is hilarious, given he is famous for leaking documents that revealed the reach of the NSA’s surveillance program. Most of his tweets so far have been in conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City: > [](https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/648901718705577985) > [](https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/648905528387727360) And of course Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who broke Snowden’s story, welcomed the computer whiz: > [](https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/648893886962774016) And here are some of the other welcomes Snowden has gotten so far: Yes! Welcome to Twitter. — jack (@jack) [September 29, 2015](https://twitter.com/jack/status/648894111634857984?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) Welcome to twitter [@Snowden](https://twitter.com/Snowden?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) [#StayVigilant](https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayVigilant?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) — Jesse Ventura (@GovJVentura) [September 29, 2015](https://twitter.com/GovJVentura/status/648913413595271168?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) .[@Snowden](https://twitter.com/Snowden?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) Hello, friend. — Mr. Robot (@whoismrrobot) [September 29, 2015](https://twitter.com/whoismrrobot/status/648910720265023488?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) [@Snowden](https://twitter.com/Snowden?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) Can you help me set up Google two-factor authentication? — pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) [September 29, 2015](https://twitter.com/pourmecoffee/status/648893350091849729?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) Welcome to Twitter [@snowden](https://twitter.com/Snowden?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw), and thanks again for doing this: [pic.twitter.com/FoTqwE7QQS](http://t.co/FoTqwE7QQS) — Chris Anderson (@TEDchris) [September 29, 2015](https://twitter.com/TEDchris/status/648915077786112000?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) _Read next:_ [_Edward Snowden: 2013 Person of the Year Runner-Up_](http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/runner-up-edward-snowden-the-dark-prophet/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4054441/edward-snowden-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4054441/edward-snowden-twitter/"},"headline":"Here's How Edward Snowden Was Welcomed on Twitter","datePublished":"2015-09-29T18:44:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:03:00.262Z","description":"The best Tweets from high-profile figures","url":"https://time.com/4054441/edward-snowden-twitter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64c75f253727a844/698860c4524fc06f46df4366/gettyimages-170248179.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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