CIA asks Twitter followers to spot the differences between two Halloween-inspired scenes

Hundreds of people attempted agency’s Halloween puzzle 

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Wednesday 28 October 2020 14:50 GMT
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CIA asks followers to play spot the difference with Halloween scene
CIA asks followers to play spot the difference with Halloween scene (CIA)

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The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has gotten its Twitter followers in the Halloween mood with a spooky game of spot the differences.

On Tuesday, the intelligence agency shared two scenes depicting a haunted house, pumpkins, a graveyard and miscellaneous bats and ghosts.

“Can you spot the disguised difference?” the CIA asked its more than 3.1m followers.

The Halloween-inspired game prompted hundreds of responses from people attempting to find all the differences.

According to the comments, most people were able to spot multiple differences, with some followers revealing they’d found up to 13.

“There are exactly 13 differences. Eerie,” one comment read.

While most of the comments focused on the game, others joked about the possibilities of completing the puzzle.

“Do I get to join the CIA if I can?” one person asked.

Another said: “You guys should definitely hire me,” alongside a photo of all the differences they had found circled in white.

Others hypothesised that the spy agency was using the Halloween puzzle as a way of sending a secret message.

“It is really weird that the CIA tweets this stuff. Really does feel a little ‘secret message being sent to Jason Bourne.’ Nonetheless, upside-down pumpkin 1, pumpkin by the house upside-down, bat different, cross-opposite, witch-bigger, ghost,” one follower wrote.

Another person questioned whether the game was the best use of the agency’s time.

“Don’t you have more important things to do?” they asked.

While the CIA has not yet confirmed, it appears that there are 13 differences overall.

However, if you spotted additional changes between the two pictures, this wouldn’t be the first time players have found more differences than there actually are.

In response to a similar puzzle shared by the CIA last month, people said they found up to 12 differences, with the agency revealing the next day that there were only 10 to find.

“If you found more than 10 differences, you practiced good tradecraft. Always look for opportunities to learn more,” the agency  wrote at the time.

In addition to the puzzles, the CIA also has a section of its website dedicated to “spy kids,” with games and information aimed at encouraging children to learn more about the world of central intelligence.

Keeping with the theme of Halloween, the agency shared its disguise tips and tricks for children earlier this month in preparation of the spooky holiday. 

“With #Halloween right around the corner, it’s a good time to talk about our own love of disguises. We know better than most people how difficult it can be to craft the perfect disguise,” the CIA said.

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