CIA is gaining attention for new recruitment ad
The CIA has faced backlash for new promotional video, FOX News' Gillian Turner reports
Another "woke" CIA recruitment video is making waves in the wake of a viral ad that enraged GOP lawmakers and other prominent figures on social media.
The second video, posted to the CIA's YouTube page last month, featured a member of the LGBTQ community who described himself as an "agency librarian."
"Growing up gay in a small Southern town, I was lucky to have a wonderful and accepting family," he said in the clip. " I always struggled with the idea that I may not be able to discuss my personal life at work," the man in the "Humans of CIA" ad said. "Imagine my surprise when I was taking my oath at the CIA and I noticed a rainbow on then-Director [John] Brennan’s lanyard."
'WOKE' CIA RECRUITMENT VIDEO RILES UP SOCIAL MEDIA
"Officers from the top down work hard to ensure that every single person, whatever their gender, gender identity, race, disability, or sexual orientation, can bring their entire self to work every day," the man added.
The video was just one of a longer web series that has been underway since 2019, the CIA told Fox News in a statement last week. The "Humans of CIA" social media series depicts real officers who share their personal path at the intelligence agency.
While most of the previous ads garnered little online pushback, a recruitment video titled "Discover the CIA: Your Nation is Counting on You," sparked a fierce reaction last week for being what critics labeled "woke propaganda."
The 2-minute video featured a 36-year-old Latina CIA agent who described herself as "intersectional," "cisgender," and "millennial" who embraced herself "unapologetically" because she refuses to internalize "misguided patriarchal ideas of what a woman can or should be."
Critics, including Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Ted Cruz of Texas, called the video an "embarrassment," and slammed the agency for its willingness "to weaponize their power to target their political opponents: conservatives."
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The agency pushed back against the mounting backlash in a statement last week, telling Fox News that the controversial ad proved to be effective at helping attract candidates to the agency.
"2020 was a standout recruitment year for CIA despite the pandemic," a CIA spokesman said. "Our 2021 incoming class is the third-largest in a decade."
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