WIREDGOV

MI5 has stepped out of the shadows and joined Instagram with the aim of lifting the lid on what it’s really like to work at the Security Service.

MI5’s social media content will bust popular myths about its work, explain the world of intelligence, promote career opportunities, and bring to life events in MI5’s 112-year past. Followers can also expect interactive content, including the opportunity to engage in Q&As with intelligence officers. 

In his first media engagement as the new Director General in October 2020, Ken McCallum explained: ‘If I want one thing to characterise my tenure in this role, it’s for MI5 to open up and reach out in new ways’. 

He stressed the importance for MI5 to communicate more about its work saying: ‘Much of what we do needs to remain invisible, but what we are doesn't have to be. In fact, opening up will be key to our future success’.

MI5 hopes that Instagram will also provide a new way of communicating with younger audiences. Ken McCallum stressed that 'MI5 really does need a rich mix of talented people, from across all the UK’s communities. In today’s wonderfully diverse UK we want to spread our net as widely as possible, including crucially to people who haven’t ever thought of applying here'.

MI5’s move into social media follows a series of notable ‘firsts’ for the organisation. In October 2017, the then-Director General Sir Andrew Parker was the first serving DG to be interviewed on television, and the following year delivered his first live televised speech from Berlin. In early 2020, MI5 was the subject of a fly-on-the-wall documentary with ITV; the first time the organisation had allowed television cameras inside its headquarters to follow the work of counter-terrorist investigators. 

You can follow MI5 on Instagram @mi5official.